


Love After Love Drabbles

by Ex_Mentis



Series: Love After Love [2]
Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: BRoken(Rook/Ben), F/M, Fluff, M/M, Mind Control, Past Abuse, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-12
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-01-14 13:25:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 129,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1268038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ex_Mentis/pseuds/Ex_Mentis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sequel and continuation of 'Love After Love'. How does Ben's new relationship with Rook affect the events of Ben 10: Omniverse? WARNING: Slash (guy-on-guy) and Xenophilia. BRoken, Rook/Ben, Ben/Rook! Fluff, humor, and hotness! Also, angst and drama in future chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Volume I

**Episode 3: A Jolt From The Past**

_(Takes place the day after 'Love After Love')_

The next day was...interesting...for Ben and Rook. First of all, Rook woke up at 6am (as he had trained himself to do so that he could complete his morning workout before reporting to Plumber HQ) and found himself lying in an unfamiliar bed next to an unfamiliar body. It took him about three seconds to remember the previous night. He blushed before looking at the boy behind him and smiling; Ben was rather cute when he snored and had drool hanging from the corner of his mouth.

So Rook started his day completing twenty push-ups, sit-ups, and jumping-jacks in Ben's room; the boy slept like the dead!

At about 7:45am, Rook decided that it was time for him to report to Max for the day. He quickly scribbled a not for Ben before leaving.

Ben woke up at around 8:06am and took notice of a folded piece of paper in his hand. After reading it, he blushed as the memories of the previous night flooded his mind. It wasn't until 8:15am that Ben came to a near-satisfactory conclusion about his feelings and intentions toward his new partner. Still needing some time to think before facing the handsome alien, Ben decided that a trip to Mr. Smoothy was necessary.

It was about 9:42am when Ben stepped out fo the elevator and into Plumber HQ sipping on a smoothy. He approached his grandfather and quickly noticed Rook next to him. Ben desperately tried to hide his blush while Rook looked on in embarrassed satisfaction.

"Sorry I'm late," Ben said to his grandfather, who had his arms crossed and was looking displeased.

"You're not on your own schedule any more, Ben," Max replied, "You can't keep you partner waiting." Max motioned with one arm towards the young Revonnahgander.

Ben looked to Rook before smiling ruefully and said, "I was off saving the universe?"

Max took one look at Ben's smoothy cup and then Ben. Ben could only shrug, ruefull grin still in place. Max just rolled his eyes and smiled before walking off, leaving the two boys alone. There was a slightly awkward silence for a moment or two before Ben said, "Come on, Rook, let's go. I'm parked over here." Ben pointed, with his thumb, behind him. Maybe once they were in his car they could talk in earnest about the previous night?

"We'll take mine," Rook said with an easy smile. Behind him, Ben noticed a black and silver  _tank_  with a mounted dorsal-cannon. Before Ben could even begin to drool, the tank drove off revealing a rather plain and boring cargo truck with the "Max's Plumbing" logo on it.

"Wow," Ben said, when nothing else came to mind, "I bet the boys all start screaming when they see this ride rolling down the block." It was a foot-in-mouth thing to say, but Ben never could keep his comments to himself.

Thankfully, Rook appeared to take it in good humor, going so far as to smirk before saying, "Males are not afraid of my vehicle, but they probably should be." Rook then pulled out a remote from his pocket and pressed a button, causing the seemingly boring track to transform into a badass ship.

Ben could only gape in amazement before saying, "Now that is awesome!"

* * *

**Episode 4: Trouble Helix**

Ben was quite exhausted after a long evening of being target practice for two galvan who clearly weren't as smart as they thought they were. Ordinarily, Ben would have picked up a bag of chili fries and gone straight home. However, things weren't ever ordinary for Ben Tennyson.

Instead, Ben took an underground tram from the main Plumbers hub to an underground apartment complex. There were a few dozen Plumbers currently stationed on Earth that weren't actually from Earth, and so long-term living arrangements had to be made until they either asked for a transfer or were handed one by their superiors.

Ben took a lift up to the fourth level of the complex and down the hall to the sixth room. This was Rook's apartment. Ben giggled as he thought back to a week ago when, on the road home after the Megawhatts incident, Ben had asked Rook where he was staying. Ben then learned about Rook's apartment and had asked to see it, wondering what secrets it might divulge regarding Rook's personality.

To be frank, his apartment had been the very definition of spartan. The walls were chrome plated and unadorned with pictures, holo's, or anything else. The floor had a standard, thin, black carpet, and the bed had simple white sheets and a blanket. Ben had made the mistake of informing his mother about this, and so Sandra had insisted on throwing Rook a house-warming party. This had also lead to a private discussion between mother and son about how Sandra would support Ben no matter the gender, or species, of the person he  _liked_. Later that evening, after everyone had left, Ben popped the question to Rook, who had emphatically agreed.

Presently, Ben was sliding a key-card through the reader, which then gave a positive chime and a green light before the door itself opened with a mechanical squeak. Ben had been making a habit of hanging with Rook in his apartment, since they were now boyfriends. After the fourth day of this, Rook offered Ben a key-card to access it on his own. The gift had been met with a big smile and a quick, chaste kiss.

Ben stepped though the open door and into the living room, which had been altered drastically at Sandra's behest. The carpet was now a rich chocolate brown, the chrome walls had been replaced with off-white bricks, and the room itself sported a love seat, a coffee table, a couple of lamps, and a television set.

Rook was sitting on the love seat, reading something on a datapad before looking up at Ben and smiling.

"How did it go?" the Revonnahgander asked.

"It went, alright," Ben said before plopping on the other side of the love seat, with his head in Rook's lap and his legs dangling off the other end. Rook was most amused by this.

"Dreeba and Blukitch spent more time arguing with each other than they did actually accomplishing anything! I just stood there, just letting the laser blasts hit me," Ben said in a huff.

"The important thing is that you kept your promise to them. I'm proud of you, Ben," Rook replied with a pleased smile.

Ben blushed and said, "So, does that mean I get a reward for being so virtuous?"

Rook's smile turned into a mischievous grin before he bent low and kissed Ben. Only this time, Rook's forked tongue became involved.

* * *

**Episode 6: It Was Them**

Ben stalked back to his boyfriends truck, and frowned when he say Rook sitting there, innocent as can be, eating his lunch.

"So this whole time," Ben grumped, "you've just been sitting here eating...?"

"Mysecian swamp hoppers," Rook said, before offering Ben the container and saying, "Would you like some?"

"Ugh, you and Grandpa Max," Ben said in response, wondering a.) how his boyfriend could stand to eat that stuff, and b.) why his boyfriend didn't help him out! "Couldn't you have given me a little help out there?"

Rook smiled knowingly and said, "You should have said something."

"Like what?" Ben asked, suspicious of the look on Rook's face.

"Like...'Rook, help me!' "

"I didn't need help, I..." Ben stopped when he realized Rook's look was pointed right at him.

"Ben, you've never been alone in this. You've always had your grandfather, your cousin, even  _him_ , so why do you insist on trying to go solo when you know it's impractical?" Rook asked, trying to teach his boyfriend a lesson in both humility and teamwork.

"Fine, whatever," Ben said. He was about to investigate the state of his lunch, but Rook interuppted him when he grabbed Ben's hand and said, "No, not whatever. You are my most important person, Ben. I don't want to see you get yourself into a situation that you can't handle and get hurt!"

Ben's face changed from a scowl to a tender smile, and said, "Rook, that's not gonna happen."

"And why not?" Rook asked, now scowling himself.

"Because my big, strong, over-protective boyfriend won't allow it!" Ben replied with a grin.

Rook smirked before placing a quick kiss on Ben's lips

_**-BRoken-** _

Later, in Dr. Animo's ant hill, Ben (in the form of Rath) found himself in a tight spot, all on his own. His boyfriend had gone after a lone ant carrying some piece of alien tech. Ben wasn't exactly claustrophobic, but all these giant ants on top of him made him very uncomfortable.

Almost immediately, though, a series of laser blasts caused the ants to scatter. Rath looked over to see Rook running towards him, alien tech tucked under his arm, and looking absolutely murderous.

"Get away from my boyfriend!" Rook commanded, venom in his voice, promising unending to pain to any who defied him.

"YA SEE THAT, ANIMO?" Rath exclaimed in his usual manner, "THAT'S MY BOYFRIEND, AND HE WILL KICK YOUR BUTT FROM HERE TO THE NULL VOID, THAT IS, IF I DON'T GET MY HANDS ON YOU FIRST!"

"Oh dear," was all Dr. Animo could say.

* * *

**Episode 8: Hot Stretch**

Ben and Rook were chasing the strange teenage girl, and their chase had lead them to a sewer drain. Ben was already formulating a plan of attack; the omnitrix was due to time out soon, so he had to choose his next alien carefully. He didn't notice his Plumber-partner/boyfriend silently seething behind him. That is, until said boyfriend spoke up.

"Are you going to stay like that?" Rook asked rather brusquely. Ben wasn't sure, but it felt like there was a deeper meaning to that question.

"Just till the Omnitrix times out," Ben replied, uncertain.

"How long does that take?" Rook asked.

"Uhh, fifteen minutes or so," Ben replied uncertainly. Ironically, about the time he finsihed speaking, the Omnitrix did in fact time out. "Guess that's it," he said before turning around to his boyfriend. What Ben saw made him worry.

Rook frowned deeply as he growled, "I think our thief appreciates  _this_  Ben Tennyson a little more."

"Huh?" Ben replied.

"She did express interest in some  _other_  form of yours," Rook replied, almost accusingly.

Ben couldn't believe it, Rook was  _jealous_...of a  _girl_! Did he tottally miss the memo about Ben Tennyson being gay? Deciding to play stupid for a bit longer just so he could teach his boyfriend a lesson, Ben replied nonchalantly, "Oh, she must have meant Ditto. According to the fan sites, that's my cutest alien."

"That's not at all what she meant!" Rook growled, fists clenched, but posture still ramrod straight and perfect, and his frown deepening.

"Aww, is someone getting jealous?" Ben replied with a smirk, before replying in a sarcastic tone, "It's a good thing I'm not  _straight_ , otherwise your concerns would be justified."

"Not funny, Ben," Rook replied, his voice only slightly calmer, "It does not matter who or what it is that is interested in you; that they are interested at all does." He then got right into Ben's personal bubble before roughly lifting Ben's chin with his right hand and said, "You are  _mine!_ No one else is allowed to look at you or say anything about you!"

Before Ben could retaliate, he was pulled into a rough yet highly passionate kiss.

Making his boyfriend jealous was now Ben's favorite pastime.

**END VOLUME I**


	2. Volume II

**Episode 10: Of Predators And Prey Part 2**

It was later in the evening after they had defeated Khyber. Ben and Rook were celebrating their victory at Mr. Smoothy.

"Ben, I think we need to talk," Rook said in a serious tone.

"What about?" Ben asked, feigning ignorance, "Our plan worked great! We tricked Khyber and now he's history."

Rook gave Ben a look and said, "You know what we need to talk about. It's obvious you're hurt by the things I said."

"What things?" Ben said, still acting, "We pretty much wrote a script beforehand, so no feelings would be hurt." Ben looked away, fearing that if he didn't, Rook would see the tears trying to fall from his eyes.

Rook, however, was a very observant young man, and quickly rushed to Ben's side of the table and pulled him into his arms. Ben couldn't hold it in any longer and began to cry, the pain of Rook's too-honest words wrenching his heart.

"I am sorry, Ben. You know I didn't mean-"

"No, you were right: I'm arrogant, hot-headed, insolent, impulsive...I keep driving people away because I take credit for everything and never give any back! It's why I drove Gwen away, it's why I drove  _him_ away, ...and it's why I'm driving you away."

Rook pulled Ben's head up so that they were looking each other in the eyes. "Now you listen to me, Ben Tennyson," he said with honest conviction, "you are  _not_  driving me away; you could  _never_  drive me away. I made a promise to you that I would never leave you, and I always keep my promises."

"So you're just putting up with me because of a silly promise?" Ben spat out bitterly.

Rook shook his head and said, "No, I am staying by your side willingly because I love you."

Ben looked into Rook's eyes and so nothing but the love of which his boyfriend spoke. He smiled and allowed Rook to pull him into his lap and hold him.

"I promise you, Ben Tennyson, that I will never stop loving you, and that there is nothing in this universe or any other that would make me stop loving you, no matter how arrogant, hot-headed, insolent, or impulsive you get."

* * *

**Episode 12: Many Happy Returns**

Standing in the middle of a burning house, gaping at your two ex-partners (and one ex-boyfriend) might not seem like the wisest thing to do, but it was all Ben could do at the moment. Kevin and Gwen had disappeared to college for months and out of the blue they return...sporting new fashions.

Kevin seemed to have changed his standard long-sleeve grey undershirt to a long-sleeve grey-and-white striped shirt. He was also wearing suspenders with a pouch on each side. And was he growing a goatee?

Gwen had changed the most, yet, hadn't changed at all. Her hair was back to being as short as it had been when they had both been 10, and was now wearing fashionable glasses. She was also sporting a new shirt and a plaid skirt.

And so Ben, in the form of Rath, verbally barraged the two while they looked on amusedly, before the three eventually high-tailed it out of the house. That was when the awkwardness hit Ben.

He looked back on forth from Gwen to Kevin. Gwen seemed happy to be back home, and Kevin... Ben didn't know what to expect from the man who had ditched him for his cousin. Ben would have certainly felt better if Kevin looked as awkward as Ben felt. Or maybe if Kevin looked guilty or regretful. But no, Kevin didn't seem to notice that anything was wrong...and that hurt more than Ben would have liked to admit.

But that didn't matter anymore; Ben was with Rook, happily so in fact. Kevin may have been Ben's first crush, but Rook was certainly Ben's first love.

And so the three parted with a promise to talk more in the morning at Mr. Smoothy.

_**-BRoken-** _

"Like the new look, Cuz. How's college?" Ben asked, skillfully ignoring Kevin for now.

"It's exactly like saving the universe," Gwen replied as she clenched her eyes in annoyance, "Just replace Vilgax with a pompous art-history professor." Gwen then shook her head to clear it of further thoughts in that direction and said, "Ugh, forget her, I'm on Spring Break. Kevin took the week off from work so we could visit."

Ben looked over at Kevin in surprise. Yeah, it was surprising that Kevin Levin had a job, but more so that he would take it off to come visit Ben! Could that mean?

No, no, no, Kevin had made his choice long ago and Ben was going to make him stick by it. Ben was happily with Rook now.

"Stop right there," Ben said, "Kevin has a job?!"

"At a garage," Kevin replied smugly, "My own cot and everything."

"Like a  _job_  job?" Ben asked.

"Oops," Kevin said as he purposefully dropped his cup, "Look at that! Tennyson, help me get some more." Kevin then started walking away, and so Ben followed.

Once they were at a safe distance, Kevin said, "Listen, I know things are weird, and I've been meaning to talk to you again, but-"

"Save it," Ben cut in with a flat tone, "Just tell me this: does Gwen know?"

Kevin's look away from Ben was all the answer Ben needed. Anger coursed through his body as he hissed, "You and I had an affair behind her back for a year and now that you've become her boyfriend full-time you don't even have the guts to let her in?!"

"Things are going great between us, I didn't want to ruin anything," Kevin said with innocent eyes, as if he didn't believe he had done anything wrong, "Besides, right now I have some bigger fish to fry; Ben, you gotta hide me!"

"From who, another 'dirty little secret'?" Ben asked viciously.

Before Kevin could answer, an alien vessel appeared in the sky and began firing missiles at the smoothy shop. One of the missiles went straight for Gwen and Kevin's car, causing a massive explosion. Thankfully, Gwen had created a force-field around herself just in time; Kevin's car wasn't so lucky.

It was at this time that the cavalry arrived in the form of Rook and his plumbers truck/ship.

"Thanks, Rook," Ben said to his boyfriend (in a manner too familiar and...sweet...than normal, Kevin noticed).

Rook quickly morphed his truck into flight mode, and as they flew away Ben said, "Guys, this is my boyfriend, Rook. I don't always get him, but I love him."

"The feeling is mutual," Rook replied with an adoring smile aimed at Ben.

"What?!" Kevin cried out as Gwen smiled and remarked on how her parents had mentioned something about her cousin's new beau.

_**-BRoken-** _

Rook had landed his truck in the crater that had once been a building next door to the alien market-place. It was here that they had first found the entrance to Undertown. Kevin was currently ogling Rook's ride and complimenting it.

"This is a sweet ride," Kevin said appreciatively as he walked towards Rook.

"Yes," Rook said with a bitter tone, "as you say, my vehicle is treat not unlike candy." Rook then turned to face Kevin with a frown and said, "But then, I don't use it when it's convenient, and just leave it to rust when I no longer want it, and then pick up a different model that's more my preference behind it's back."

Kevin's eyes went wide, wondering where all the hostility was coming from. "What are you..."

"My 'truck' is  _mine_  now!" Rook cut in with pure venom in his voice, "And if you think you can come around and decide that you want to drive it around, just to take it for a spin, and wreck it when you get bored and go back to your job afterwards?! NO!"

Ben and Gwen quickly turned to see what the fuss was about and were shocked at how angry Rook was as he glared at Kevin who looked like he'd been kicked in the gut.

"Your not talking about the truck, are you," Kevin said. It was not a question.

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben was incredulous. Once again, Kevin had taken someone's heart and shattered it, returning to his 'friends' and hoping they would hide him. Honestly, Ben would be more than happy to see Looma take Kevin; maybe then he'd learn his lesson.

Gwen was amused by the whole thing and was more or less of the same opinion as Ben: Kevin needed to face the consequences or else he'd never learn. Rook, however, was very close to pulling the trigger on Kevin's life.

"That poor princess," Gwen said, after Kevin spilled the beans on why Looma was after him.

"That poor nothing," Kevin replied, "you're not-"

"Unh, what did you expect: the jealous girlfriend routine?" Gwen said, cutting him off, "You're the one who jilted some vulnerable alien girl."

"She's not the first," Ben muttered.

All eyes quickly spun to him (Rook's being the most sympathetic) at that comment.

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked.

Before Ben could respond, a nearby wall exploded revealing Looma.

_**-BRoken-** _

The fight that ensued between Ben and Looma was fairly one-sided. Ben was getting banged up pretty good, and had timed out on Shocksquatch.

"Hang in there, Ben! You've got her on the run!" Kevin called out.

"Are you kidding?!" Argit replied, "Kevin, he's getting killed! He's gonna die on his feet!"

"THAT DOES IT!" Rook cried out before leaping into the ring and charging into Looma. The princess had been caught off guard and so was easily knocked to the ground. Rook then ran to Ben's side and helped him onto his feet before pulling him into a deep and passionate kiss.

"My heart's flame is yours, Ben, if you will accept it," Rook said tenderly to Ben as he brushed the human teen's cheek with his thumb.

Ben nodded, a wide smile on his face.

Rook then turned to the others and said, "I have presented my heart's flame to my beloved, and he has accepted it! As such, he is no longer eligible to be married by your princess. Furthermore, it is clear that my beloved entered into this contest under false pretenses generated by Kevin Levin. I suggest, princess, that you take your  _fiancé_  and leave this planet before any further incident." Rook then glared at Kevin, who was looking rather sheepish and guilty. Gwen was also glaring at her boyfriend.

"Kevin, did you truly take such a cowardly act to get out of marrying me?!" Looma declared with anger.

"Uhhh."

Looma  _roared_ in anger before running back aboard the ship in tears. The king glared at Kevin and motioned to his guards.

"Kevin E. Levin, as punishment for your cowardice, I hereby nullify your engagement to my daughter..."

"Yes!" Kevin said.

"...And I hereby recall every piece of technology installed into your car that you obtained from me," the king finished with a sadistic grin.

"WHAT?!"

At that moment, two guards returned hauling an engine block that appeared to have been torn from its socket. The king and his guards boarded their ship which then flew off.

"My baby," Kevin called out.

"I can't believe you're worked up over a car!" Gwen said angrily, "You nearly forced my cousin into a marriage he didn't want!"

"That is the least of Kevin's mistakes where Ben is concerned," Rook replied, "Or did you not know that whilst he was dating you, he was having regular intercourse with your cousin!"

Kevin paled while Ben looked away, planting his face into Rook's side and begging for comfort.

"What?" Gwen said, as the world she thought she knew came tumbling down.

That night, Kevin took a bus back to his garage while Ben and Gwen sat curled up together on a couch at Ben's home crying together.

**END VOLUME II**


	3. Intermission 1: Christmas

Four months. Four months had passed since they'd first met. Four months since they decided that they liked each other and became boyfriends. Four months since Rook had promised to never leave Ben.

He'd kept his promise for four wonderful months.

For the last few weeks they'd been on extended leave (Sandra had demanded it for the both of them) as they helped Ben's family prepare for Christmas. There had been shopping for presents, going to parties held by various friends and extended family members, and simply enjoying the holiday.

Rook had been particularly fascinated by all the "Hulibuloo," as Max had called it. "While it is common for us to celebrate the end of the year and the end of another successful farming cycle, it is not quite on the same scale as your 'Kris-Mahs'," he'd said to Ben once.

As a result, Ben was doing everything he could to make sure Rook got the full experience.

_**-BRoken-** _

First, he'd had Gwen explain the mythology behind St. Nicholas and Santa Claus. Ben expected his introverted boyfriend to be more interested in the reality of St. Nicholas, but was thrown for an amused loop when Rook had stared at Gwen with the bright and inquisitive eyes of a child and, instead, asked about reindeer, chimneys, and delivering gifts to children all over the world in one night!

_**-BRoken-** _

Second, the cheesy kids specials. Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, The Year Without A Santa Claus, The Little Drummer Boy, etc.

Ben had grown up with these cartoons in his life, and while a part of him that had actually grown up could only groan and roll his eyes at the corny-ness of it all, another part couldn't help but enjoy them once more. Rook, of course, was watching with pure amazement and joy as these delightful tales of Christmas heroism appeared before him. Needless to say, Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas was the biggest success.

"It is pleasing to know that even the smallest, coldest, and hardest of hearts can still be warmed by 'Christmas Spirit'. If only it could be harnessed as an energy source..."

_**-BRoken-** _

Third, ice-skating. Ben and Gwen had often gone skating with their parents during the winter. There was a local rink that was primarily used for hockey games, but on weekends and holidays it was rented out for public use.

Teaching Rook to skate was their greatest challenge. Irregardless of how swift and graceful he was on land, Rook was an absolute klutz on the ice. But, of course, Rook refused to give up. They spent half the day teaching Rook just to stay balanced! Once he managed to get the hang of it, he quickly applied the same swiftness and grace he had on land to the ice. Ben couldn't help but drool a little at how handsome his boyfriend looked gliding along the crystalline surface.

_**-BRoken-** _

It was now the Christmas Eve night. Ben and Rook were sitting on the couch at Ben's home. Carl and Sandra had gone upstairs to go to bed (and give the boys some alone time). The fire-place was ablaze and spreading golden light and warmth throughout the otherwise dark and cold living room.

"So, what do you think of Christmas?" Ben asked with a smile as he nursed a hot cup of cocoa.

"Despite the fact that the holiday proper isn't for another two hours?" Rook answered with a grin, "It is fantastic. I have enjoyed these past few weeks with you and your family. All of these traditions and rituals are strange, but fun." Rook then took on a serious look and said, "I would ask, however, that next year I am allowed to stay out of the shopping."

Ben chuckled as he said, "Yeah, my mom, aunt, and cousin are all kinda scary when you give 'em money and free reign in a store or supermarket."

Rook smirked and said, "Kinda scary? Ben, I would rather fight Khyber and his hound, alone, than spend another minute with your female family members, shopping."

The two then busted into laughter. Once they settled down, Ben put his cup on the coffee table before laying his head on Rook's shoulder and said, "Merry Christmas," before falling asleep.

"Merry Christmas," Rook replied softly, with a warm smile, "I love you."

_**-BRoken-** _

The next morning, Rook was the first to wake, excited to see what goodies Santa had brought him. Looking down toward his feet, Rook smiled as he took in his first gift: Ben. Last night, Rook had been much to tired and cozy to move, so, he had fallen asleep on top of the couch and had pulled Ben on top of him.

Rook took his left hand and gently stroked his boyfriends hair, carding it through his fingers.

Ben mumbled something in his sleep before slowly opening his eyes. When he realized where he was, he smiled and said, "Best sleep ever."

"I suppose that means I am an acceptable bed?" Rook jokingly asked.

"Oh yeah," Ben replied, before looking over at the tree and grinning. Rook looked over as well and gasped. Not only was there a mountain of presents at the foot of the tree, but the stockings were filled with various Earth-sweets!

Ben slowly moved off Rook and walked over to the fireplace. Grabbing his and Rook's stockings, he brought them back to the couch and handed Rook his.

By the time Sandra and Carl had made it down, the two had already filled themselves with candy and no longer required breakfast.

_**-BRoken-** _

"Looks like that's the last of them," Ben said as he stared at the empty base of the tree.

Rook gave Sandra and Carl a quick glance before saying, "Actually, Ben, there is one more. For you."

"Me?" Ben asked as he started looking around, trying to find it. "Where is it?"

His eyes were quickly pulled to a small box Rook was pulling out of his pocket. Rook opened the box and Ben gasped at what was inside.

Sitting within the box was simple silver band, approximately 2 cm in interior diameter.

"As is Revonnahghander tradition, I am officially stating before you and your parents my intent to wed you. Of course, this does not mean that we will wed within the next year; we can wait as long as you wish. I am simply, as you humans say, 'taking you off the market'."

Ben looked between the ring and Rook as a smile broke out and tears began to fall. He leapt towards his boyfriend, now fiancé, and cried out, "Yes!"

As irony would have it, Ben had tried to give Rook the best Christmas ever, when it was Ben himself who ended up having the best Christmas ever.

**END INTERMISSION**


	4. Volume III

**Episode 15: Malefactor**

"This is the first public appearance I've done in months," Ben said, with both pride and trepidation; after getting used to the humility that comes with no longer being the center of public attention for a while, he was a little nervous about returning to it.

The annual 'Belwood Days' had come once more, and Ben was excited to show his Revonnahghander boyfriend yet another tradition. As they entered the gate, Rook looked to Ben and said, "Ben, are you sure you should be doing this? It doesn't seem right."

Ben caught Rook's eyes and said playfully, "I know, but I was asked nicely."

Rook raised an eyebrow, obviously not buying it.

"Think of it as giving back to the community. The proceeds from this fair go to community projects and charities!"

Rook sighed and said, "Very well." He then added with a smirk, "But let me remind you who will be shoving that 'Pie of Humility' down your throat when the fair is over."

Ben grinned and said, "First of all, it's 'Humble Pie'. Second of all, it might not be so bad being fed by you."

Rook stopped in his tracks and pulled Ben close. "Be mindful of your words," he said before pulling Ben into a deep and passionate kiss.

" _Ehem!_ "

Ben and Rook broke apart and noticed the woman staring at them with badly hid disgust. Once she saw that she had the attention of the two young men, she planted a fake smile on her face and said with a sickeningly cheerful voice, "I'm Natalie Alverese, Deputy Director of Belwood Parks and Recreation, and the Event Organizer for this little shindig." As she quickly shook Ben's hand she added, "We spoke on the phone. I'm glad you and your... _partner_...could join us here, today."

Rook immediately decided that he did not like this woman. He placed a hand on Ben's shoulder and kept it there; if Ms. Alverese thought she could keep him and his human boyfriend from publicly displaying their feelings, then she had another thought coming.

"I wanted to get Kangaroo Kommando for this years festival," Natalie continued on conversationally, "but the kids were all, 'Ben 10! Ben 10!' don'tcha know?"

A few more pleasantries and Natalie lead them through the park, pointing out a few attractions here and there (Rook could now fully appreciate the name of Ben's hometown).

It wasn't until Ben found himself perched on a dunking tank that Ben's and Rook's facial expressions had swapped.

"There's got to be some kind of mistake here, lady!" Ben cried out, "I'm Ben Tennyson? Superhero? Saved the world, like, a billion times?!"

All that Natalie could offer Ben were meaningless platitudes and farewell hand wave. Rook, however, found the occasion needed commemorating...and so successfully threw a ball to dunk his boyfriend.

"It is for charity," Rook said in response to Ben's death glare.

And so the day passed on with random children commanding him to transform into an alien, and then attempting to dunk him. The worst had been the red-headed punk who managed to dunk Ben four times in a row, and then had the gall to say he was just a paid actor in a costume.

Ben had never been so happy to see Khyber's hound in his life!

_**-BRoken-** _

Fighting Khyber's hound turned out to not be so much fun, especially after it transformed into a Psycholeopteran. Ben, as Big Chill, lead it on a chase across town before he got caught in its hypnotic gaze.

As the real world melted away into the fantasy world, Ben found himself on a stage surrounded by thousands of people from all walks of galactic life crying out his name in celebration...the same vision he'd had the first time he'd encountered a Psycholeopteran.

What made this one different, was a pair of hands grabbing his and holding them in a cherishing manner. Ben turned from the crowd and looked to his side to see Rook standing there. Suddenly, it wasn't a stage Ben was standing on, but on a daïs at the front of a church. He was wearing a tuxedo, and Rook was wearing the Revonnahghander equivalent.

Ben suddenly realized what this was, and smiled...this fantsy would be reality eventually; Rook had promised him.

Shaking himself of the vision, he starred at the large insect and grinned.

"Big mistake," he said.

_**-BRoken-** _

As the sun set, and Ben and Rook were walking back to Rook's truck, Ben couldn't help but smile. Rook looked at him and said, "Ben, are you alright? Two of your enemies have returned in one day, and you allowed yourself to publicly humiliated at the dunking booth. I am not complaining, I am just confused."

"It's nothing big, Ben replied, "Just hope for the future.

* * *

**Episode 16: Arrested Development**

Ben and Rook had been patrolling the city when, out of nowhere, two robots from Dimension XII appear and start thrashing everything in sight! Ben quickly changed into Humongasaur (for once the omnitrix had given him what he wanted) and attacked. Everything was sorta going according to plan when a kind in a ridiculously preppy haircut and purple suit appeared.

"You forgot to say, 'It's hero time!'," the boy said with a wink and a grin.

"Sorry kid, I've got no time for autographs," Ben replied before marching back into the fray.

"Ben Tennyson, I demand that you-"

"Dude, I don't have time for fanboys right now!" This kid was really starting to get on Ben's nerves. But before he could do anything else, he found himself and his boyfriend/fiancé/Plumber partner cornered by the two mechs.

"Halt!" the boy commanded, as he stared at a pocket-watch.

And the robots did!

"Ben," Rook said, his voice laced with concern, "I do not believe this is a fanboy."

"Oh, I'm a fanboy alright," the boy said with a grin as he walked towards them, "As a matter of fact, I've been a fan of Ben for seven years! And now, as to the reason for all of this pomp and circumstance, I am demanding that you, Ben Tennyson, go out on a date with me!"

Ben and Rook stared at each other and just laughed.

"Uh, kid, not only am I too old for you, but I've already got a boyfriend," Ben said as he tried to catch his breath.

The kids grin grew and took on a sinister look. "I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to give you the impression that you had a choice!" At the snap of the boys fingers, one of the robots lashed out with one of its arms and grabbed Rook, lifting him up to it's optical laser port.

"If you don't go out with me, Rook  _Lame-o_  is gonna be nothing but dust."

Now Ben was pissed, no one messed with his boyfriend and got away with it! Still in his Humongasaur form, he picked up the kid by the back of his jacket and said, "I don't know how you're controlling those things, but tell 'em to let my boyfriend go!"

The boy's backpack suddenly excreted two rockets from either side, sending the boy out of Humongasaur's reach.

"Unh, unh, unh," the boy said mockingly as he wagged his finger in a disapproving gesture.

The fight resumed, with one of the robots slashing through an adjacent building. Between a lucky shot from Rook, and a series of events that no one could have predicted, the two robots were destroyed. As a bonus, the strange kid was knocked out of the sky by some of the debris.

"Alright," Ben said, after the omnitrix timed out, "start talking kid. Now! Who are you?"

The kid picked himself up, dusted himself off, and then said, "Of course, you don't even remember me. Hello, I'm Billy Billions, we were in middle school together! I sat behind you in Mrs. Reall's class! I was the richest, and smartest kid in that school. I was practically running it! But the only person who never noticed me was the one person who I wanted to be noticed by most! You may have been a clueless dunce, but to me, you were  _my_ clueless dunce. Now do you remember me?"

"Um, no?" Ben said, cleaning out his ear with his finger.

Billy frowned, irritated that Ben was being so troublesome. "Then maybe you'll remember this! You were off, one night, running after a Synthetic Humanoid. You had managed to corner the criminal scum, and I had decided to follow you and help you out. A demonstration of my intellect and power in hopes that you would finally notice me! But, I had forgotten to add into my calculations your propensity to screw everything up!"

"Wait, so instead of zapping my baddie just so you could impress me, you got sucked into Dimension XII?" Ben asked.

Bill simply looked away in mild embarrassment.

Ben and Rook resumed laughing at Billy's expense.

"It's not funny," Billy growled out.

"Oh come on, man, you gotta admit it's a little funny," Ben replied.

"I don't gotta admit anything! I said it's not funny!"

After that brief interlude, Billy continued his monologue, which Ben zoned out of. "Huh? Sorry, what?" Ben said.

"Weren't you listening?" Billy screamed.

"When you're a world-famous superhero, you've heard one bla-bla-bla evil tirade, you've heard them all!"

"World famous?!" Billy exclaimed.

"Yes," Rook replied as he looked at Ben with both love and pride, "My Ben, the Bearer of my Hearts Flame, has saved the universe billions of times, at least, that's what he says." Rook gave Ben a playful wink.

"I see," Billy said, jealous of the look Ben was giving Rook, and wishing that the damnable young man would look at him like that. Walking over to a nearby pile of rubble, he picked up what appeared to be an energy weapon and pointed it at Ben.

"You are finally going to witness my power and intellect truly at work. You say you're too old for me? That will soon change. When you're ready for your date, you know where to find me," Bill said with a smirk before pressing down on the trigger.

"BEN, NO!" Rook cried as he rushed to grab his partner, but only allowing himself to be engulfed by the weapons energy as well.

_**-Broken-** _

"I feel...weird," Ben said, as he woke up. He raised up his left arm and thought it odd that the omnitrix no longer stuck to his wrist like glue. In fact, it slid down to his elbow! Ben immediately sat and exclaimed, "What's going on?!"

Ben leaned over to his partner and shook his foot. "Rook. Are you okay?"

"I am entirely not sure," Rook said as he sat up, rubbing his head.

His head! It had hair!

And was that a tail flicking back and forth behind him?

"Rook, you have a tail!"

"That is the only thing you notice about our predicament?" Rook responded, clearly not pleased.

"Your voice is kinda weird, but cute? But seriously, Rook. You. Have. A tail!" Ben exclaimed, grinning like a kid at Christmas before rushing over, grabbing it, and nuzzling it with his face.

Rook blushed and said, "A  _b'empac_. It falls off at puberty."

"A shame; it's so soft and warm," Ben replied.

Rook rolled his eyes, but was nontheless warmed by Ben's ministrations. It really was a shame, since it appeared that Ben had the innate ability to tame something that would usually have a mind of it's own. Looking around, Rook noted that Billy was gone.

"Ben, my Flame, as enraptured as you are by my...tail...we must return to the matter at hand."

Ben sighed, but released Rook's tail. It twitched angrily at the lack of touch.

"He said that your age difference would soon change," Rook said, "And it has! He has somehow de-aged the both of us. Now he expects you to be impressed by this display and run straight to him." Rook said this last sentence with a touch of jealous anger.

"Well, he's got another think coming. I already belong to someone else," Ben replied before kissing Rook on the cheek.

_**-BRoken-** _

After a trip to Plumber HQ, it was  _obviously_  Ben's and Rook's best bet to capture the De-Aging Ray from Billy. This meant going to Billions Technology Tower. As soon as Ben and Rook arrived, an explosion occurred from the top floor, and from it, Billy in the arms of his robotic babysitter.

As Ben and Rook stepped towards the pair, Billy grinned at said, "So, finally ready to ditch the alien-scum and spend the rest of your days in the lap of luxury?"

"Pfft, as if," Ben replied, "We want the De-Aging Ray. Give it up!"

"I'm afraid not," Billy said, as he stuck his nose up in the air and frowned, "Even if I wanted to, and I don't, it's no longer in my power to possess."

"Let me guess," Ben replied, "Dimension XII robots, plus big explosion, equals your super-genius brain screwing up royally!"

"I had everything under control!" Billy growled.

_**-BRoken-** _

Afterwards, as Ben and Rook, restored to their normal age, walked away from Billions Technology Tower, Ben sighed in disappointment.

"Is there something wrong, Ben?"

"I'm kinda starting to miss that tail of yours."

Rook rolled his eyes, but smiled.

* * *

**Episode 17: Bros in Space**

Rook and Ben had been talking about for a while and at last, they were taking a trip together to Revonnah. Ben could finally meet Rook's parents and vice versa. Ben was excited about the trip, but also nervous; meeting the 'in-laws' had always been depicted by movies and shows as a scary and critical event. Hopefully, being the continual savior of the galaxy would help.

"There it is," Rook said with a hint of pride, "Revonnah."

"Bet your glad to get home, Rook."

"I am. I have not participated in the Harvest in some time. It will be good for you to immerse yourself in my culture as I have done with yours," Rook replied.

Ben chuckled and said, "Yeah, I suppose fair is fair. Just don't laugh at me if I screw up?"

Rook gave Ben a look which made Ben blush and look away. "As I recall,  _someone_  would often laugh or make remarks at me for my mistakes in attempting to to act like a Terran."

"Yeah, well..." Ben fumbled for an excuse but found none. Instead he hung his head and said, "Just don't be too harsh."

Rook smiled and leaned over to give Ben a kiss on the cheek. "For you, Flame Bearer, anything."

_**-BRoken-** _

After landing and being introduced to Blanco's family (apparently Rook was the surname, and Blanco was the given name, but he would always be 'Rook' to Ben) Ben was presented with another surprise when, while eating at the dinner table, Rook cleared his throat and said, "Mother, Father, Sisters, and Brother, I have an announcement to make. I have presented my Heart's Flame to Ben Tennyson."

Utensils were immediately dropped, and an unsettling silence fell upon the house. Ben looked from one side to another seeing shocked faces from Rook's siblings, concern from Rook's mother, and anger from Rook's father.

"So, Rook Blanco, you have chosen to disgrace our people's traditions by presenting your Heart's Flame to an Outworlder?" Rook Da said with a scathing tone, "And another male, no less!"

"I have done only as my Heart's Flame asked of me," Rook replied, just as scathingly, "It burns brightly for Ben Tennyson, and nothing you say will change that."

"Then perhaps the matter is settled," Rook Bralla said, attempting to ease the tension and return focus to the evening meal before them. Once everyone began eating again, Bralla offered Ben a small smile. Ben looked around and saw that Shar, Shim, Shi, and 'Young One' were also smiling. Smiling back at them, Ben felt pleased that he had at least won the approval of Rook's mother and siblings. Obviously his father would be a harder nut to crack.

Ben's thrid surprise that night had been the arrival of two young women asking Rook to go with them to the Harvest Festival. A quickly whispered reminder of Ester (courtesy of Rook) kept him from losing his cool.

_**-BRoken-** _

Just when Ben thought he'd won Rook Da's approval by showing his combat prowess with the flame-thrower, he managed to screw it up by accidentally setting one of the silo's on fire!

"The muroids, the Harvest, the entire Revonnahghander way has been corrupted! My own son is destroying a balance that has existed since history began!"

"You will not speak that way to my Flame Bearer!" Rook said, stepping between his father and his fiancé, "My choices are my own, and you will not place them before the one I love!"

"It's okay, Rook," Ben said, grabbing hold of his fiance's hand, "Why don't we just go track down the muroids."

"Good riddance!" Rook Da cried out angrily.

_**-BRoken-** _

As it turned out, Ben won Rook Da's acceptance by playing a major role in the defense of Revonnah, as well as the rest of the galaxy. Da and Ben would never be close, even for in-laws, but it was a worthy start.

Later that evening, after Rook spoke with his father, Rook was torn between amusement and awe as he saw Ben dressed in the traditional female garments of the Harvest Festival. It was, therefore, not that great a stretch to imagine Ben in the traditional female garments of a bride to be wed.

**END VOLUME III**


	5. Volume IV

**Episode 18: Ben Again**

Rook was having a minor panic-attack. They had been fighting Eon, a time traveller whom Ben had met roughly six years ago, when Eon grabbed Ben's wrist (the one bearing the omnitrix). There had been an explosion of light, but nothing else. Ben seemed alright, until he started talking.

"Grandpa, check it out! I'm a teenager!" Ben exclaimed, his voice sounding...different.

"Ben? What is wrong with your voice?" Rook asked, moving closer to his Heart-Bearer so as to reassure himself that Ben was alright.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Ben asked, before noting how close he was to Rook and blushed. "And why are you standing so close to me?"

Rook's eyes widened. He took a few steps back, feeling as though Ben had slapped him. "Please tell me this is own of your practical jokes," Rook said.

"Uh, no, sorry dude. Honestly have no clue who you are. Grandpa, who is he?" Ben asked.

"Are you alright Ben? You must've taken a clonk to the noggin," Max replied as uneasiness swept through him.

"Interesting," Eon's voice cut in as he appeared in a column of violet light, "A full temporal consciousness inversion! Not the effect I was going for, but it should still have the desired result."

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben was now back at Plumber HQ and being examined by Blukic and Dreeba. As all eleven year old boys tend to do, Ben was trying to push every button he could find. This was causing the two galvan no end of headaches. Rook would have been mildly amused by the whole thing if it weren't for the fact that this  _wasn't_  his Ben.

Rook was heartbroken, his Ben was gone, replaced by this...child! He wanted so badly to get his hands around Eon's neck and...

Thankfully, Gwen's timely arrival gave Rook other things to think about. Apparently, Ben's seventeen year old mind was in his eleven year old body! And more than that, Ben used to find Mr. Smoothy's to be absolutely revolting! Rook would have to tease his Ben about that later.

Rook, Gwen, and Ben piled into Rook's truck and drove to the Mr. Smoothy's location that Gwen had specified.

"Mr. Smoothy's," Ben said in revulsion, "Yuck!"

"Believe it or not," Rook said with a smirk, "You love this place."

Ben looked up to Rook with wide-eyed wonder, then quickly looked away with a blush as Rook went to meet his gaze. Rook couldn't help but grin. It appeared that this eleven year old Ben was developing a crush on him. This must be a good sign, Rook thought to himself.

"It's true," Gwen said, noticing the silent exchange between Ben and Rook. She smiled at the sight, knowing the Ben and Rook had been meant for each other. "We used to hang out here all the time," Gwen continued, "You, me, and...Kevin."

"Kevin who?" Ben asked suspiciously.

"Kevin...Levin?" Gwen replied, trying to ease Ben into the idea.

"No way! Now I know this is some freaky, alternate, messed-up universe!" Ben cried.

"Kevin changed, sort of," Gwen replied with a frown, "He's no longer our friend. He screwed up, big time."

Ben blinked, stunned by the absolute venom in his cousins voice. Turning to Rook, Ben noticed a very dark look on the alien teenagers face. Ben moved so that h was directly in Rook's line of sight and said, "Hey, uh, what's with the long face?" Ben smiled reassuringly, hoping that it would cheer Rook up. Rook sighed in defeat before returning the smile and pulling Ben into a hug.

Ben was kinda surprised by the hug, and really surprised at how comfortable and right it felt being held by Rook.

"Don't worry, big guy, I've kicked Kevin's butt so many times, he's probably got brain damage. Maybe that's why he never learns not to mess with Ben 10, awesome hero of the universe!"

Rook looked at Ben in surprise before bursting into laughter, which Ben quickly joined in. Gwen simply smiled as she watched the two.

_**-Broken-** _

"Is it just me, or does this day seem to be dragging on and on?" Ben asked his fiancé, who was currently leaning against his truck, awaiting the smoothy refreshment Ben had just obtained for them.

"I almost wish some universe-threatening calamity would occur to alleviate this boredom," Rook replied.

"Yeah, well, something's bound to happen sooner or later," Ben said, "It always does. Just give it some time."

Suddenly a bright green blob of light appeared next to Ben. From within it came someone Rook never expected to see (at least, not for another twenty or thirty years).

* * *

**Episode 19: Store 23**

Ben had had some pretty weird adventures, but travelling to a parallel dimension and meeting an alternate version of himself topped it all. In this dimension, he was 'Ben 23', and had blue eyes instead of green. Ben also noted that his alternate self had a far different style than his; preppy chique versus any old shirt and pants. Also, this alternate Ben was very unoriginal with the names of his aliens.

This became apparent while going through each of 10's alien's and having 23 name the ones he recognized. As they walked down the street, Ben 23 said, "Hey-hey, my agent has an idea. We should do...a team-up! I'm thinking 'reality show; we've both got evil-aliens to catch, and Ben-aliens to do it with!"

"A little more to it than that," Ben 10 replied bemusedly.

"Sure, there's the Intellectuary too; always after your Hero-Watch!"

Ben 10 decided now was as good a time as any to nip Ben 23's attitude towards aliens in the bud. "Ben, these aliens you turn into? They're not the only good ones. Where I come from, aliens aren't automatically evil monsters. Some just live in town, like my fiancé!"

Ben 23's mouth dropped open as he just stared at Ben 10 for a few seconds before saying, "You're getting married to an alien? A  _dude_  alien?! Mind. Blown!"

Ben 10 just grinned and ruffled his counterparts overly tidy hair, just before he noticed a rocket heading their way. As the smoke cleared, an armor-clad figure leaped off the roof of a building. As it fell, it fired its shoulder-mounted laser-cannon upon Ben and his counterpart (who had now transformed into Cannonbolt/Rollaway).

As the two Ben's fought the armored figure, Ben 10 couldn't help but feel that there was something very familiar about their opponent. The armor, the shoulder-mounted cannon the figure could pull off and use as an assault rifle...

Wait, it couldn't be!

But Ben didn't have any time to confirm the identity of their opponent, as he now had to diffuse an explosive cuff locked on his counterparts arm.

_**-BRoken-** _

"Well, how am I supposed to know the good aliens from the bad ones?" Ben 23 asked Azmuth (aka the Intellectuary), "I don't have a grandpa. You do."

Azmuth smiled and said, "There are other people out there who can help." Azmuth gestured to Tetrax and the mysterious armored figure.

"You're not alone," Tetrax said, "We just couldn't penetrate that tough skull of yours."

"Even the amberogia-yielding rocks of my home world aren't as stubborn," the figure said as it removed it's helmet and revealed-

"Rook!" Ben 10 exclaimed with a grin. "I knew it was you! No one else wears that kind of armor, or fights with that kind of weaponry.

This Rook Blonko looked the same, and yet different. His skin coloring was off; instead of black and sky-blue, he was black and lime-green! He also had a scar reaching from his right cheek, and halfway across his nose.

Blanko raised a single brow and said, "I assume your world has a 'Rook Blonko: Galaxy's Youngest Bounty Hunter'?"

"You're a bounty hunter? Sweet!"

"Uh, who's this?" Ben 23 interrupted.

Ben 10 grinned mischievously and said, "Remember that alien  _friend_  of mine I was telling you about?" He then gave a meaningful glance Rook's way.

Ben 23 looked from Ben 10, to Rook, then back to Ben before blushing and saying, "Dude."

"I know," Ben 10 replied with a satisfied grin.

**END VOLUME IV**


	6. Intermission 2: Twenty Years Later

Ben all but fell upon the couch, far too exhausted to do so gently. The couch's springs and supports squeaked in protest. His body ached all over, and Ben was sure he was bleeding from somewhere. "I hate this time war," Ben grunted, running a had through his brunette hair, which was starting to gray a bit around the edges.

"Were you able to find Paradox?" a rich and deep voice, that always sent pleasurable chills down Ben's back, said.

Ben pulled himself upright and smiled as he saw his husband of eighteen years walk towards him. Rook Blonko had changed over the years, and yet, he was still the same. He now sported a beard, much like the one his father had, as black as the spiky mohawk upon his head. A small silver hoop hung from his left ear while his right had a chunk missing from, what was once, the pointed tip.

Ben smiled and threw his legs off so that his husband could sit with him. "Yeah, I found him. Maybe with his diplomatic skills we can reign in the Chronosapiens."

"And Maltruent?" Rook asked, now seated next to Ben.

Ben sighed before rubbing his closed eyelids with his thumb and forefinger. "We're on our own. Paradox offered to talk him down, but, we both know nothing short of being handed all of time and space on a silver platter will please that monster."

Rook nodded in understanding, looking quite weary himself after hearing the news. Now taking a good look at his husband, Rook said, "Are you in need of medical attention?"

Ben chuckled and replied, "Nah, just a few bumps and bruises. Maybe a scratch or two. Makes me dream of the good 'ole days when all we had to worry about were Khyber, Malware, and Psychobos."

Rook smiled before placing his left hand on Ben's cheek, and pulling him in for a kiss. It was slow and soft, the both of them needing comfort for the hard times ahead. After all these years, they were still so very much in love with each other.

A shuffling sound had them pull apart and turn around to see a sleepy six-year-old Revonnahghander girl standing at her bedroom's doorway. Her name was Bailey, and she was quite unusual. Unlike normal Revonnahghander children, she'd never had a tail. Her hair was not the normal black, but a caramel brown. Also, the pupils of her eyes were perfectly circular, not sickle-shaped, and her irises were jade. "Daddy? You home?"

"Hey, Bai," Ben called, motioning with his hands for his daughter to come to him, "What are you doing up so late?"

Bailey slowly shuffled over to her daddy, who picked her up and sat her on his lap. "Couldn't sleep," she mumbled, "had a scary dream."

"What happened in your dream?" Ben asked.

"You didn't come home," Bailey said, tears slowly gathering at the corners of her eyes, ready to fall at a moments notice, "Aunt Gwen said you were gone...that you couldn't come back...that you were-"

Ben wrapped his arms tightly, making soothing sounds as she silently sobbed. Rook watched helplessly as his daughter practically fell apart in his husbands lap. Bailey loved her father, but only her daddy could hope to soothe her.

Eventually, the child fell asleep again, and once Ben was sure he wouldn't wake her, he stood up and, with Rook at his side, took her back to her room.

Once Bailey was tucked back in her bed and snoring much like her daddy (Ben had received no end of flack from Rook for that), Ben and Rook turned to the other end of the room to check on it's other occupant.

Bailey was a fraternal twin. Her brother, Renoir, 'Ren' for short, was human...mostly. In much the same way that Bailey appeared to be a Rhevonnahghander, save for a few traits, so too did Ren appear to be human. His pupils were sickle-shaped, and his irises were orange. His hair was caramel brown, but only grew in a thick vertical strip along his head (just like his father) and was generally a messy tangle. He also had a cute little brown tail.

As Ben watched his children sleep, with his husband standing behind him with his arms around Ben's waist, he couldn't help but thank an old friend for these two precious gifts. Both his children and their conception were unusual, but Ben couldn't care less; they were his children, and he would love them, and die for them!

Ben silently bid Bailey and Ren goodnight, before he was carried to his and Rook's bed for a goodnight's rest. The war would soon see it's end.

**END INTERMISSION**


	7. Volume V

**Episode 22: Showdown Part 2**

This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all! Khyber had disappeared without a trace, and Psychobos was not behind bars, but Malware... To see Galvan B in the sky, once whole and unblemished, crack and tear into many pieces! It chilled the very core of Ben's being.

The shockwave from the explosion kicked up a terribly dust storm that nearly shredded the galvan's homes. But the worst was still yet to come. As Azmuth pointed out, chunks of Galvan B were now falling to the surface of Galvan Prime, most of which were the size of Humongosaur! Ben, in the form of NRG, and Rook took to the skies atop one of the Galvan gunships and tried to blast apart the biggest chunks they could spot. The particle cannons stationed along the cities perimeter took the rest as best they could.

Unfortunately, by the time they realized they weren't shooting at rocks, it was too late.

_**-BRoken-** _

"BEN!" Rook cried as he ran to his downed fiancé who had just reverted back. The reinforcements had come just in the nick of time, and in Rook's ship no less! Placing itself between Malware, and Ben and Rook, it's rear hatch opened to reveal Max Tennyson.

"Come on!" he called to Rook.

Rook, who held Azmuth in one hand, used all his strength to pull Ben upright with the other. Gwen ran out and helped Rook carry Ben back into the Proto-TRUK. Once the rear hatch was sealed, a volley of incendiary missiles was launched at Malware to distract him as the ship made its getaway.

Ben was immediately placed on a medical table as Blukic and Dreeba went about examining him. Rook hovered over them, looking upon Ben with worry and agitation; he was barely breathing and unmoving.

"He's gonna be alright, Rook," Max said as he placed a comforting hand on the revonnahghander's shoulder.

Rook nodded in understanding before saying, "Magister, how did you find us?"

"When you didn't show up on any scan, I figured something was wrong," Max explained, as he too looked upon Ben with worry, "so, I called Gwen."

"I'm kind of an expert at tracking Ben's mana," Gwen said sheepishly.

Rook smiled and said, "I owe you, both of you."

"Hey, don't forget the pilot who figured out how to fly this incredible contraption of yours!" a voice announced from the front. Rook looked up to see a young man of Gwen's and Ben's age, with shoulder length blonde hair, and a strong build. Rook mused that he could easily pass as Kevin's 'good' twin.

"Rook Blonko, Cooper Daniels," Gwen said. Cooper then made a throat clearing sound which caused Gwen to roll her eyes and add on, "my boyfriend."

Rook smiled and said, "Congratulations." He then returned to focusing on Ben. Blukic and Dreeba had just completed a bio-scan and found nothing damaged; he was simply unconscious and would come around of his own accord. Of course their estimation of when was terribly off. Rook had never been so happy to hear Ben cough and gasp for breath in his life!

"Ugh," Ben groaned, "does anybody have a mint? My mouth tastes like Malware!"

"Perhaps I can fix that," Rook said before pulling Ben into a kiss. Wrapping his arms around the boy, Rook poured all of his love for Ben and joy that he was unharmed into the kiss. Rook's forked tongue entered Ben's mouth and followed the familiar curves of Ben's mouth. Rook was unsurprised to find that Ben tasted like Ben, and not Malware. Once they pulled apart, Ben couldn't help but wear a dorky grin as he said, "Much better."

_**-BRoken-** _

With a plan in mind, Ben and Cooper positioned themselves for their drop.

"Hey Rook? Don't get any ideas about Gwen; I just started dating her," Cooper said with a teasing tone, knowing full well the alien had eyes only for Ben.

Rook grinned and said, "Not to worry, Gwen is only attractive by human standards."

Gwen turned to Rook with a questioning glare and said, "Uhhh..."

"What about me?" Ben whined with the most adorable pout he could manage, "I mean, I've seen the girls on your home planet!"

"They do not compare to you, beloved," Rook responded in a deep husky tone that made Ben's legs nearly give way. As it turned out, Ben did let out a slight moan which caused Cooper to laugh, and Gwen to turn around to look at him and Rook with a grin and say, "Sitting right here!"

_**-BRoken-** _

Their goodbyes said and done (Azmuth wasn't much for sentiment) Cooper, Gwen, and Ben headed for the Proto-TRUK; Rook was already onboard doing pre-flight checks. Cooper spotted Khyber's hound, whom he had befriended during the battle, and whistled for the beast to come.

"Of course, let's adopt the hell-hound that's tried to kill me more times than I'd like to count!" Ben exclaimed in exasperation.

"She's kinda grown on me," Cooper replied as he leaned down to pet 'her'.

"It's a girl?" Gwen asked.

"Of course," Cooper said before holding out his left arm. A sort of holographic gauntlet then appeared, and less than an inch above said gauntlet, a screen displaying the alien hound's physiology. "Bio-scan's indicate the presence of estrogen, or rather, the alien canine equivalent, as well as certain reproductive organs indicative of a female."

Gwen rolled her eyes and smiled.

* * *

**Episode 23: Tummy Trouble**

Some might find it unusual to find themselves suspended upside down over half a dozen cute little kittens, but for Ben Tennyson and his fiancé Rook Blonko...this was just another day at the office!

As they struggled to free themselves from their pink ribbon bindings, a young woman wearing glasses, and a cat-girl costume appropriate for an anime convention, walked towards them saying, "Cat's out of the bag, Tennyson! Thanks to my Meow-Meow Malitia, Bellwood's about to rub up on it's new master: Nyancy-Chan!" She then grabbed a few of the hypnotized kittens and placed them on Ben's face before walking away.

"Which one is she again?" Ben asked as the kittens walked up (or down) his body towards his feet.

"The woman who controls cats," Rook replied quite calmly.

"Right, 'Cat Lady'," Ben reminded himself before looking back at his partner and asking, "Isn't that just a little gimmicky?"

"On the contrary," Rook responded with a teasing smirk, "I find her strangely...compelling."

Ben sent a glare Rook's way and said, "Remind me to punch you when we get out of this. Ready?" At Rook's nod Ben called out to Nyancy and said, "Better hope they don't have squirt bottles in the Null Void, Nyancy!"

Taking his cue, Rook ripped one arm of of the pink ribbon bindings before tearing a seam through them, effectively freeing both himself and Ben. With both feet planted firmly on the ground, Rook finished Ben's wise-crack by saying, "Because you have been a bad kitty!"

Nyanzy spun around and screamed, "CRY HAVOC, AND LET'S SLIP THE CATS OF WAR!" as she pointed over to a cage filled with tigers...which then opened to release said tigers.

"You pick, Rook," Ben said, "The lady or the tigers?"

Rook chose to run after Nyancy. Using one of the tigers as a spring board, Rook jumped and tackled Nyancy to the ground. Nyancy turned over so that she could look at Rook. Batting her eyes as she did, she said, "You don't  _really_  want to arrest me, do you?"

"I do not want to arrest you, "Rook replied as he helped Nyancy back to her feet.

Nyancy smirked and wrapped her arms lazily around Rook's shoulders as she said, "You'll help me escape,  _meow-meow_. But first...BEAT BEN TENNYSON TO A PULP!"

"I am...not nearly as hypnotized as that," Rook replied with a smirk, coming out of the trance Nyancy had put him in to.

"What?!" Nyancy exclaimed, jumping back a little from Rook as she did, "But I control cats!"

"Yes, and I am cat-like," Rook replied, "but only partially. I'm also part serpent," Rook stuck out his forked tongue and wiggled it for emphasis, "and serpent's are not nearly as gullible as cats. Your second mistake was ordering me to attack my Heart's Flame. There is not a force in the universe that can coerce a revonnahghander into harming their Heart's Flame." Rook then stood up and welcomed Ben into his arms, before pulling him into a quick kiss.

"Fiddlesticks!" Nyancy exclaimed as she crossed her arms and pouted.

_**-BRoken-** _

"I'm leading a mission to get the queen back today!" exclaimed Sgt. Cast-Iron.

"Yeah! Who's with us?" Ben added, bumped at the idea of taking a proactive stance against the Incurseans.

"You gotta be kidding me! If we're not gonna execute Plan Omega, then we attack the enemy directly!" exclaimed Cmdr. Cookmeister.

"Yeah!" the other Perks exclaimed.

Rook walked up next to Cookmeister and said, "That is much less risky, and it leaves our options open."

"Rook! They took the Upchuck's queen!" Ben cried out.

"If the Incurseans win, the queen will have no country," Rook countered.

"Great, let's do it my way," Ben said.

"No, Ben," Rook responded.

Ben was thrown for a loop; Rook was disagreeing with him! They agreed on just about everything, and always worked together! Ben couldn't do this without Rook!

"My mind is made up," Rook said with a frown, before it turned ever so slightly into an apologetic smile, "though I know that will not sway you from your position. A two-pronged attack might even be the best option of all: you lead the Murks to bring back the queen while the Perks and I protect the planet."

"Rook," Ben pleaded, "I can't do this without you! Please, just help me this one time!"

Rook shook his head, a sad smile still on his face. "I'm afraid I can't Ben. But you are wrong about one thing: you  _can_  do this yourself. I believe in you."

Ben returned Rook's said smile and said, "Okay. Be safe; I don't know what I'd do without you," before leaving the amphitheatre with the Murks.

"Ditto," Rook replied, as he left with the Perks.

* * *

**Episode 24: Vilgax Must Croak**

"We are in position for final approach, Warden Ku'diak," Rook announced, as he piloted the heavily armed cruiser towards the prison station.

"Hold on, Plumber. We've been evacuating this prison for a week," the warden replied, as an image of him appeared on the Proto-TRUK's front view-port, "Last convoy's leaving now, then Incarcikon is yours!"

"Good, the sooner we get rid of the squid-faced perve, the better," Ben said with a frown.

"I am curious, Beloved, of all your old villains, why does Vilgax upset you the most," Rook asked as he motioned towards the back of the cockpit where lied the isolation chamber. It's one and only tenant was Vilgax himself, strapped to a restraining table.

"Long story," Ben replied, looking a little on edge.

"I'm flattered, Ben Tennyson," Vilgax said, "You still think of our many...encounters."

Ben frowned and said, "If by 'encounters' you mean the several thousand times you tried to kidnap me and turn me into one of your concubines!"

Vilgax chuckled darkly and said, "Such fond memories."

"I suggest you leave my Beloved, the Bearer of my Heart's Flame, alone," Rook said, as he pulled Ben into his arms to comfort him, "I have no problem dealing swift justice to a war-criminal and, apparently, sexual deviant such as yourself."

"I see," Vilgax responded with a smirk, "Then I will adhere to your suggestion...for now."

_**-BRoken-** _

"Keep moving, Vilgax, I wanna make sure you spend the rest of your life nice, and safe, and locked away," Ben said, as he escorted the prisoner to the hangar.

"It's a shame that you can't seem to appreciate that it was because of me that you came into possession of the omnitrix," Vilgax said, with a faux-hurt voice.

"Which you then proceeded to steal from me, which lead to a long history of me trying to shake you off like an owner of a dog in heat!"

Vilgax snorted in amusement before saying, "I see you've acquired a lover. Does he know all the intimate parts of your body?"

Ben stopped and stared at Vilgax in shock before glaring at him in anger and replying, "First of all, we haven't gotten that far! Second of all, ew! You have no right to ask me that!"

"Really?" Vilgax asked with an evil grin, "If he does not satisfy you, I could..."

"No!" Ben growled out.

Vilgax frowned and simply "Hmmph"-ed before then asking, "Has he not made a move once? Is he a eunuch?"

Ben blushed and embarrasedly answered, "Trust me, he's not!"

Vilgax raised a single brow and asked, "How do you know?"

Ben's only response was for his entire face to go completely red as he recalled one particular make-out session that almost went too far.

"I see. Interesting, "Vilgax said before resuming his walk to the hangar.

_**-Broken-** _

"Gee, that was close," Ben said as he snuck up on Vilgax.

The alien war-lord turned and grinned saying, "The two of us alone in a dark corridor? I suppose there are less favorable environments to be in to 'initiate' you into my harem." Vilgax made to grab for Ben but was was stopped when Ben reactivated his stun-cuffs and sent a jolt of electricity through Vilgax's body.

"Sorry, squid-face, no touchy today! Oh, and care to explain your little maneuver back there?"

Vilgax smirked and replied, "Simply a diversion. I knew you would defeat them easily and rendezvous with me later. Besides, I have no intention of harming what is mine!"

Ben glared at Vilgax and said, as if reminding a child that never learns, "I don't belong to you, I never did belong to you, and I certainly never will belong to you. Now come on!"

_**-BRoken-** _

"Take it easy, son. You're okay," Max said to Ben, as the young man came to and stood up.

"I don't feel okay," Ben replied, rubbing his head as he felt a headache coming.

"Well, look at it like this," Max said, "Rook got through to us, you didn't lose any members of your team, and Vilgax didn't take you back to Vilgaxia to become one of his concubines."

"But what about-"

"Atea and her bounty hunters are missing," Max said, cutting Ben off since he knew what he was about to ask, "...and so is Vilgax."

"She got him?" Ben asked, a little hopeful at the prospect of never seeing Vilgax  _alive_ again. He was dissapointed, though, to watch the holographic recording of Vilgax stealing one of the prison's scout ships and leaving.

As Ben, Rook, and the other Plumbers left Incarcikon, Rook looked over to Ben and said, "No matter where Vilgax is now, I will not let him get to you."

"I know," Ben replied before looking down at his lap in misery. "I kinda wish Atea had gotten Vilgax. I'm a horrible person!"

"No, my Beloved, you are not. No mercy can be had for that monster," Rook responded as he pulled Ben into his arms to comfort him while silently making an oath to see Vilgax dead.

**END VOLUME V**


	8. Volume VI

**Episode 25: While You Were Away**

"Young One?" Rook said in surprise, as he looked upon the pilot of the crashed ship. "Is that you?"

Rook and Ben walked up to the young rhevonnahghander. As soon as Rook was standing in front of his little brother he exclaimed, "When did you learn to pilot a ship?!"

"Ohhh," Young One replied sheepishly, "while you were away." The boy then looked behind his brother to the emerald-eyed human and said, "Rook Ben!" before running to Ben and jumping into his arms.

" 'Rook Ben'?" Ben asked amused.

"Of course. You are to be wed to my brother. You are family!" Young One replied.

Ben blushed bright red before looking to Rook. Rook was also blushing, but he also looked to find the whole thing...appealing. To be honest, Ben found it quite appealing to be taking Rook's name.

Returning to the matter at hand, Rook asked, "Does Father know what you have done to this Harvester?"

Young One chose not to answer and instead said, "Rhevonnah has been invaded, you must help!"

Ben set Young One down on his feet as Rook, who was examining the modifications Young One had made to the Harvester, said, "An invasion? Our family! Are-are they...?"

"I do not know," Young One replied, also fearful for the fate of his family as well as his people. "I went to find you and Rook Ben 10 as soon as it happened."

Rook placed his hands on Young Ones shoulders and said, "You are quite brave, Little Brother. Ben?"

Ben smiled and said, "Do you even have to ask?"

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben was feeling incredibly uneasy right then. He had caused quite a bit of trouble during his last visit to Rhevonnah, and Rook Da had made it quite clear that he would not have Ben on Rhevonnah ever again, much less in his house. But, here Ben was, at the Rook family's table...with much less food on it than last time. Things were getting even weirder with ever word that Rook Da spoke.

"Rook Da used contractions when he spoke," Young One whispered to his brother.

"Yes," Rook replied, "several. Most shameful to hear that sort of talk from our father."

"Some thing's way off," Ben added, "and it isn't the grammar." Deciding to put his theory to the test, Ben plastered on as fake and sweet a smile as he could muster and said, "So, Rook Da, Blonko and I have been thinking about getting married on Earth...in a traditional Earth ceremony."

"Oh?" Rook Da replied, clearly not that interested.

"What are you doing?" Rook hissed.

"Just watch," Ben replied, and then continued, "Absolutely! Blonko's told me all about how he wants to forfeit his rhevonnahghander heritage and fully embrace earth culture. We've decided that he'll drop his family name and take on my own after we get married."

Rook's eyes widened as he realised what Ben was doing. Under normal circumstances, Rook Da would be absolutely furious at these statements, but currently, Rook Da looked rather bored and only seemed to be humoring them with half-hearted replies.

"I see. Good for you Rook Blonko, though I suppose I should start calling you Blonko T-t-t-tennyson then, yes?"

Ben's and Rook's eyes narrowed at the suspicious behavior, both of them concerned at the lack of fury in Rook Da.

_**-BRoken-** _

Later, after Psychobos, Attea, and the Incurseans were gone, and the mind control device had been crippled beyond repair, Rook and Ben stood before Rook Da, Rook Shar, Young One and the Sheriff.

"I will stay here and fight beside you," Rook said.

"No, you must go back to Earth," Rook Da replied. "We are in control of our thoughts. We can take care of ourselves."

"But father.."

"Rhevonnah is one small part of the war," Rook Da said, to appease his son. "Go back to Earth; find out what the Incurseans are really after, and stop them"

"Your dads right," Ben said to Rook, "the frog's next move is gonna be some place else."

"Rook Blonko, you have accomplished so much off-world," Rook Da said, as he walked toward his son. "I am proud of you. Why do you think Rook Shar wants to be a Plumber?"

"Shar! You do?"

"Uh, yeah!" Rook Shar replied.

"And why do you think Young One wants to visit the stars?" Rook Da continued. "You have become a hero while you were away."

Rook Da then turned to Ben and narrowed his eyes before saying, "I expect my son to uphold his rhevonnahghander culture irregardless of his mating to you. I will not have him forsake his surname!"

Ben chuckled sheepishly and said, "That was a joke! Totally didn't mean it!"

Rook Da smirked and replied, "Good to know, Rook Ben Tennyson."

* * *

**Episode 26 & 27: Frogs of War**

This was quickly becoming the worst day of Ben's life. Not only were the Incurseans on their way to invade Earth, but Ben was being forced to take on the role of public speaker! Ben hated public speaking: having the collective eyes of an immense crowd upon you, hanging on to your every word. If Ben didn't pick the right words, he'd end up making things worse.

So, there Ben was, standing before a crowd, with a giant hole peering into Undertown behind them, bits of garbage being thrown at him while the crowd spat venomous things at him.

"Ben Tennyson!" Will Harangue, a television newscaster Ben once had the misfortune of meeting, cried out, "The people demand answers! How long have you been a traitor to your species?"

"Uh, who with the what now?" Ben answered, confusedly.

Will then asked, "Are you out to destroy humanity, or merely enslave it?"

"That's not...I mean, hey!"

"On a scale of one to ten, one being global apocalypse and ten being complete obliteration of the space/time continuum, how dangerous is this alien population?"

"Trust me," Ben said, with ever ounce of resolve he had, "I've been to Undertown, and they're decent folks trying to make an honest living. They may look different, but aliens are totally and completely harmless." As Ben spoke, he resumed his earlier pastime of fiddling with the omnitrix. "Heck, my fiancé is an alien, and he's as sweet and gentle as they come!"

This caused an alarming outcry from the crowd below. Will Harangue's frown grew as he then said, "So not only are you conspiring with aliens, but you even admit to have intimate relations with one!"

Ben blushed and said, "Rook and I haven't had intimate relations! We hug, we kiss, but we haven't had sex! I'm 16 for crying out loud!" Ben took a deep breath then said, "Look, my work lets me live in the skin of countless aliens, and I've always used their abilities to save this planet and the universe a couple dozen times! Maybe more!"

The next thing Ben heard was the omnitrix making a chirping sound before saying, "Randomizer function, activated."

_**-BRoken-** _

The Proto-TRUK bucked harshly as one of the Incursean ships landed a hit on its aft-starboard section.

"Magister Tenysson!" Rook exclaimed over the comm, "my ships has sustained extensive damage!"

Rook put all his might and concentration on stabilizing the Proto-TRUK's course, directing it straight towards Amelius' flagship.

"Rook!" Max replied over the comm, "Don't do it! There has to be another way! What about Ben?"

"What about Ben?" Ben asked, as he revealed himself having stowed away in one of the Proto-TRUK's lockers. "I'm with you, Rook: floor it!"

Rook turned around and grinned; the Bearer of his Heart's Flame could not be shaken from something he put his mind to doing.

"I should have known you would stow away," Rook said fondly.

"Just until the omnitrix recharge," Ben replied. "It's 'Blaze of Glory' time!"

Rook's grin widened as he said, "Consider it floored, Beloved."

And so, Rook drove the Proto-TRUK right into the upper section of Amelius' flagship. Seconds before it hit, Ben caught a break and managed to transform into Bloxx. Bloxx quickly surrounded Rook, and as the Proto-TRUK impacted, Bloxx was sent hurtling through the windshield. Bloxx waited for the automatic force-field to kick in and seal off the hull breach before releasing Rook.

_**-BRoken-** _

A month had passed since Ben had been exiled from the Sol System, and Rook still could not forgive himself. At the time, it had seemed the best option to disappear while everyone else was focused on the mutated and feral tokustars falling from the sky. Now, Rook wasn't so sure; he'd left his Beloved, the Bearer of his Heart's Flame, high and dry. He hoped that Ben was still alive out there and willing to forgive him.

For now, he occupied himself gathering allies to help fight the Incurseans. Cooper and Gwen had been more than willing to jump in and help. Blukic had also volunteered, after Driba had been captured. Argit was a hard sell, but with a little persuasion from Gwen he hopped onboard. Currently, the five of them were trying to make a run for someplace where they could hide for a bit after a successful detonation of an Incursean hover-tank. It was a diversion, of course, while they raided an Incursean barrack for weapons. Unfortunately, the Incurseans had tracked them and, thanks to Argit's big mouth, were now firing at them. With Argit in Rook's arm and Blukic in Gwen's, they ran to a nearby garage and found a three-wheeled dune-buggy. Cooper grinned and used his technopathic powers to upgrade the buggy using scraps of metal nearby. When he was finished, the buggy had a dorsal-mounted laser-turret and doors! Rook manned the turret, and fired upon the hover-tank chasing them.

"It is not piercing their amor!" Rook cried over the sound of rushing wind as Cooper drove the buggy haphazardly through the streets of Belwood.

"Sorry, Rook," Cooper replied, "best I could do on short notice!"

Another hover-tank came busting through a building. Cooper barely evaded it, but grinned when he saw the other hover-tank crash right into it. His grin fell, though, when their path became blocked by a Mr. Smoothie's sign. Instead, Cooper took a nearby ramp up to the bridge above them and carried on.

"Look out!" Gwen cried as the Incurseans wheel-tank came rolling through. Behind them was another hover-tank. Cooper had no choice but to through it in reverse and crash through a shop and out onto a restaurants veranda one-level below them. They were now crossing another bridge when the hand of a feral tokustar shot out at them. Cooper made a quick u-turn and shot up the slab of concrete and flew right into a nearby strip mall. Cooper, Rook, Gwen, Argit, and Blukic jumped out as the tokustar reached through a store and grabbed the buggy. Their only hope now was to hide in a nearby watch repair shop.

Once the tokustar had left, the shop owner stepped out to see if the coast was clear. Deciding it was, he said, "You can come out, it's gone."

"Thanks," Gwen said as she stepped out, Blukic wrapped in her arms.

"You do realize that harbouring resistance fighters is dangerous," Rook said as he stepped out.

"Yeah," Cooper added, stepping out too, "these guys shoot or stomp first, and ask questions never."

"Plenty folks out there like me, ready to help," the shop owner replied.

"Uh, can I have these batteries," Blukic piped up holding two watch batteries.

Back at Mr. Baumann's shop, the team reflected on the event sof the day.

"It is unfortunate that we had to abandon those weapons," Rook said to Cooper. "We need more than this to mount a full counter-attack."

"Rook, we barely dodged the Way-Bad's for two weeks getting this stuff to Belwood," Cooper replied. "I'm sorry, but I'm not about to get blasted by the frogs. Besides, just give me some metal bits and pieces and I can _build_  you all the weapons you want!"

"And as proven today, those weapons might not be powerful enough to get through the armor of Incursean hover-tanks, much less their war-ships," Rook replied.

"Fact is, guys," Gwen cut in, "these raids aren't doing us much good! If a frontal assault is out, then it's time we tried something big...like busting Grandpa Max out of Plumber Headquarters!"

"So we just barge in?" Cooper asked with a wry grin. "Now you're sounding like-"

"-Like Ben," Gwen finished.

"And Driba," Blukic said. "I miss him so much I' been contradicting  _myself_!"

At that moment, an image of Emperor Amelius appeared and gave a world-wide message to Earth. At it's conclusion, Argit said, "Gwenny's right. Nothing we do is gonna make a difference! Well, nothing short of snatching Psychobos and shutting down his mind-control gizmo."

"Go on," Cooper prodded.

Argit made a squeak as he thought for a second and then exclaimed, "I got it! We disarm Amelius' ship, right? But he works out'a Plumbers headquarters."

"So when he heads back into town.." Cooper said, catching on to Argit's plan.

"...We grab him!" Argit finished with a satisfied grin.

"You wanted something big," Cooper said to Gwen.

"Rook?" Gwen asked the rhevonnahghander.

"It does seem strategically sound," Rook replied with a playful grin, "And yet, Argit though of it!"

"What can I say, I'm only dangerous when I'm cornered," Argit said.

_**-BRoken-** _

The team, along with their rescuer, Bull Frag, were now on Attea's ship and running for dear life. Rook was piloting while Gwen starred out one of the view-ports and Cooper stood behind Rook with Blukic on his shoulder.

"How is everybody?" Gwen asked, walking away from the view-port.

"To tell the truth, I'm feelin' a bit existential," Blukic replied.

"She means 'Are you hurt?'," Cooper clarified.

"No she doesn't!" Blukic shot back before realizing he wasn't talking to Driba. "Hn, nothing," he said to Cooper dejectedly.

Bull Frag cleared his throat and said, "I didn't hear a 'thank you'."

Gwen, Blukic, and Cooper just starred at Bull Frag suspiciously, and when Bull Frag put his hand to his ear so as to better hear their 'thank you's, Gwen shot a mana bolt at him, knocking him out.

When he came to, Bull Frag found himself bound by mana to a chair in some rusty little room, the walls lined with wooden cargo boxes of every shape and size. In front of him was a small wooden table with a lamp on it. Gwen and Cooper stood on opposite sides of the table while Blukic sat on the table, right next to the lamp.

"Hey, why'd you hit me?" he asked.

"Because you're a filthy Incursean," Cooper responded.

Blukic then turned on the lamp, which was pointed right at Bull Frag's face.

"I am not!" Bull Frag exclaimed. "I helped you escape!"

"Yes, why is that, filthy Incursean?" Rook growled at Bull Frag, not quite trusting their guest. Rook denied ever noticing a flash of hurt cross Bull Frag's face.

"Isn't it obvious?" Bull Frag asked. "Gwen, tell 'em who I am!"

"Uh, do you know this Incursean, Gwen?" Cooper asked, now very confused.

Gwen narrowed her eyes and approached Bull Frag. Bending at the knee's so that she was at eye-level with the Incursean, she starred through his stylish shades, past his eyes, and into the core of his being.

"He's cool," she said with a smile before backing away. She then motioned for Blukic to turn off the light, which he did. She then removed the mana-bindings as she said, "Rook, scan the room for enemy surveillance."

"I did my sweep this morning, Flame-sister," Rook said, using the proper name for his eventual cousin-in-law.

" _Before_  you found out Argit was playing both sides,  _handsome_ ," Bull Frag said with a smirk.

"I beg your pardon?" Rook said, a little surprised by the endearment. It reminded him of...no, impossible!

Bull Frag grinned and said, "Sorry, I got this problem where I can't help flirtin' with pretty things. And you, serpent-tongue, sure are a piece o' eye-candy!"

Rook rolled his eyes before pulling off his Proto-Tool from his shoulder and beginning his sweep.

"And how do we know you're not?" Cooper asked as Bull Frag stood up.

"You'll know," Bull Frag replied. "When it's safe I'll explain everything."

_**-BRoken-** _

"Hang on, hang on," Cooper cried out, "Bull Frag is Ben?"

"Who else would come up with a dumb name like Bull Frag?" Gwen replied.

"Whatever, 'Bull Frag' is awesome!" Bull Frag said.

Gwen smiled and elbowed Bull Frag in the gut before saying, "I knew it was you as soon as you showed up."

Bull Frag smiled back and said, "I know, but I couldn't risk the Incurseans finding out I was back on Earth. That's why I couldn't say nothin' 'till I knew we were in the clear."

"Oh you better believe it!" Attea exclaimed. "My daddy will fry you alive for coming back! And the rest of this miserable planet!"

"Course, you're kinda mixed up about me, aren't you?" Bull Frag asked with a grin. He then walked over to Attea and said, "It's exciting, going against what daddy says, huh?"

Attea blushed and said, "What? Well, uh...I...mehhh."

"Now that I'm an Incursean, Attea, I'm seein' you in a whole new way."

"Which way...how...say  _what_?!" Attea cried confusedly.

"Your special," Bull Frag said. "Those big eyes, that cute little cap, that vicious indifference!"

"Oh...well...it's an instinct, you know? I'm just naturally cold-blooded!" Attea was then knocked unconscious by a mana bolt from Gwen.

"Ugh, I'm gonna throw up!" Cooper exclaimed. "That. Was.  _Disgusting_!"

Bull Frag grinned and said, "I told ya! I'm an incurable flirt!"

Ben then disengaged the life-form lock, and explained to Gwen, Cooper, Blukic, Driba, and Grandpa Max about how he'd managed to get back to Earth and stay in his new Incursean form. Just then, Gwen's communicator chirped; Rook was contacting them.

"Rook? What's going on?" Gwen asked.

"We have located Dr. Psychobos," Rook answered.

"Is that good news or bad... _handsome_?" Ben asked, not being able to keep from using the endearment Bull Frag had used earlier.

"Ben!" Rook exclaimed with relief and joy, "I suspected that was you! I can not imagine any Incursean having a reason to call me 'handsome'. I have missed you, Flame Bearer."

"Back at you, handsome."

**END VOLUME VI**


	9. Intermission 3: The Next Generation

-Welcome to the Central Plumber Archive-

-Please input your request below...-

"Display personnel files for Plumber Squad RT-002"

-(3) files found-

-file (1)-

Name: Rook Bailey Brianna Tennyson

Age: 16

Species: Human/Rhevonnahghander

Father: Rook Blonko Tennyson

Mother: Rook Benjamin Kirby Tennyson

Height: 5'6"

Weight: 131 lbs.

Eye Color: Jade

Abilities: Rhevonnahghander agility

Weapons: Omnitrix

Notes: Conception via upgrade to one Rook Benjamin Kirby Tennyson's Omnitrix allowing agent to conceive and carry to term; fraternal twin sibling. Personality similar to 'mothers'. Currently dating one Devlin Harvey Levin.

-file (2)-

Name: Rook Renoir Carl Tennyson

Age: 16

Species: Human/Rhevonnahghander

Father: Rook Blonko Tennyson

Mother: Rook Benjamin Kirby Tennyson

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 163 lbs.

Eye Color: Orange

Abilities: Rhevonnahghander agility

Weapons: Proto-tool

Notes: Conception via upgrade to one Rook Ben Kirby Tennyson's Omnitrix allowing agent to conceive and carry to term; fraternal twin sibling. Personality similar to 'fathers'. Appears to be caught in a love triangle between Prince Londo Armstrong Red Wind, son of Queen Looma Red Wind and Manny Armstrong, and Ergho, son of Ester and Argit.

-file (3)-

Name: Cameron Frank Daniels

Age: 17

Species: Mutant-Human/Anodite

Father: Cooper Oswald Daniels

Mother: Gwendolyn Eunice Tennyson

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 195 lbs.

Eye Color: Blue

Abilities: Technopathy, Mana-Manipulation

Weapons: none

Notes: Honest, intelligent, and kind. Devices created by technopathy may or may not be powered by mana. Does not appear to have an anodite form. Has one sibling (sister), currently six years of age; has anodite form and is currently showing great skill in mana-manipulation, no technopathy skill as of yet.

-End of files-

-Logging you out...-

-Have a nice day!-

**END INTERMISSION**


	10. Volume VII

**Episode 28: Rules of Engagement**

"Well done, Ben," Rook said, as he went to pull Fistina's head out of the wall, "Now to take her in!" Rook grabbed Fistina's head with both hands and tugged, grunting out as he did, "It should...only take...a moment!" With one last grunt, he managed to pull Fistina's head free.

XLR8 grinned and said, "Wow, she must have  _really_  gotten herself stuck!"

"Perhaps I didn't feel like showing off," Rook replied with a smirk, then his expression shifted to warning as he cried, "Ben! Look out!"

XLR8 turned around to see Fistina's body stumbling towards him. He tried to run, but Fistina's body placed its foot on his tail; XLR8 wasn't going anywhere.

Rook went into action and pulled his proto-tool off it's shoulder-mount and fired an energy net to capture and stun the criminal's body, causing it to fall on XLR8.

Fistina looked about at Rook and grinned as she said, "Oh, very effective, Plumber." Rook ignored her as he ran to Ben's side. By now, Ben had reverted back from XLR8 to his own form.

"Are you alright, beloved? Forgive me, I did not expect Fistina's body to fall on top of you!" Rook exclaimed. He made as though to help Ben out, but Ben managed to crawl out on his own.

"Yeah, I'm alright, don't worry about it," Ben said before moving into Rook's right arm as it pulled him close. Ben looked around Rook to Fistina and frowned. "Why'd you knock over that jewelry store anyway?"

"I adore pretty things," Fistina replied before looking up at Rook with, what Ben could only guess to be, sultry eyes and adding, "Such as you, Little Man. I like the way you move!"

"Hey, eyes off the rhevonnahghander, he's taken!" Ben exclaimed before his own eyes got caught on a nearby electronics store. In the display window were TV's of every shape and size, all of them depicting his best friend Julie Yamamoto at the local tennis court.

Ben had first met Julie in 8th grade, and they had quickly become good friends. During that summer, Ben had discovered that he was gay after finding that he couldn't take his eyes off of a topless Cash Murray, the local bully, while at the beach. Ben had spent several nights there after having dreams of Cash that went from platonic (the two actually being friends), to romantic (the two sharing a kiss under a full moon), to erotic. Ben had immediately decided to, figuratively, lock himself up in the closet.

When he started school again, now in the 9th grade, he decided to take his mind of boys, and Cash, by dating a girl... _any_  girl! Ben had ended up setting his sight's on Julie. Julie was a pretty clever girl, and quickly realized that Ben was gay and in denial, but had humored him. Ben and Julie had gone on over a dozen dates before Julie had decided that enough was enough, and had confronted Ben on the fact that he was in denial. At about that time Ben had had his Big-Chill-Baby incident, and Ben was already crushing on his long-time rival, Kevin Levin. Julie had encouraged Ben to talk to Kevin, which had led to the beer-drinking contest, which had led to Ben drunkenly revealing his feelings for Kevin, which led to the two having sex and starting their, now infamous, secret relationship.

During said relationship, Ben had maintained a close friendship to Julie, who was fond of calling Ben her 'Gay Boyfriend'. It occurred to Ben that he hadn't spoken to her over the phone for quite some time!

"Hey, Julie's back in town." Ben said acquiring his fiance's attention.

"She is your old friend from shortly after gaining your new Omnitrix, correct?" Rook questioned.

"Yeah," Ben said, frowning. "Wonder why she didn't tell me she was in town?"

"Something to ponder," Rook replied, as he touched Ben's shoulder, turning him around to face him. " _After_  we have taken in the prisoner."

"Hey, Fistina, you in any hurry?" Ben asked the head under Rook's arm, after a moment of quiet frowning.

"No, I have a nice view," she tittered from her location.

Rook looked down at the Akrolian's face, before looking up to frown in disapproval at his Beloved. "Ben, we really do not have time..."

"Please, Rook? For me?" Ben cut him off, hands clasped together and eyes brimming with a pleading shimmer.

"Ben..."

"For your beloved, who would give you a whole lot of appreciative kisses and affectionate love bites later?"

Rook frowned, mostly in embarrassment at Ben referring to their private time in front of a criminal, but the way Ben looked just broke Rook's heart. Rook let loose a sigh of resignation and asked, "Your heart is really set on this?"

Ben nodded eagerly at Rook's words.

"Very well, Ben, but it will be quick," Rook said, smirking seductively, "That way, you may repay me all the sooner."

"Thanks Rook!" Ben exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around Rook's neck,mindful of the severed head of Fistina. He then planted a big kiss to Rook's cheek and the side of Rook's lips before pulling away with a happy smile and rushing over to the Proto-TRUK.

"Rook, Rook..."

Rook was startled, having temporarily forgotten the Akrolian head still under his arm, saying his name in a sing-song voice. "What a wonderful name."  
"Be silent." Rook retorted peevishly, annoyed by her attention.

_**-BRoken-** _

"Hey, Julie!" Ben cried out with a smile before jumping out of the Proto-TRUK, which was still hovering several meters above the tennis court. Landing in a crouch, he stood up, only to get smacked in the back of the head with a tennis ball. Julie giggled before using a remote to turn the ball-thrower machine off before she ran up to Ben and hugged him.

"Ben! I was wondering when you were coming to visit!" Julie said.

"What?" Ben asked confusedly, "I didn't even know you  _were_  home! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Uh, I did tell you. Remember last week when I called you?"

Ben thought back to last week. He remembered he had been playing video games. Wait a second...Julie  _had_  called! "Huh," Ben said as he grinned sheepishly, "I guess you did call."

Julie rolled her eyes. "Let me guess," she said, "I caught you while you were playing video games, right?"

"Yeah," Ben said before he noticed the young blonde man who was now standing closely to Julie.

"Uh, who's he?" Ben asked as he pointed at the man.

"This is Hervé, my boyfriend," Julie said.

Ben's eyes widened as he said, "Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?"

"Your the one who told me to go for it; to tell Hervé how I felt," Julie said, smiling knowingly at Ben, "or did I catch you while you were playing video games, again?"

"Eheh," Ben chuckled sheepishly as he now realized just what he had, unknowingly, said to Julie ("Go for it! I swear to God, if you don't grab that treasure I'll  _never_  speak to you again!"). "I guess I did bring you and Hervé together. I really need to pay more attention to my phone calls," Ben said.

"Ze famous Ben Tennyson,  _c'est un honneur_ ," Hervé said as he took Ben's left hand and placed a gentle kiss upon the knuckles.

Ben blushed and said, "Uh, thanks...I think?"

Julie giggled and said, "He says it's an honor to meet you." She then grinned and in a teasing tone added, "And don't mind the kiss, that's how all Frenchmen greet women."

"Indeed, you 'ave a  _beauté féminine_  about you," Hervé said, "yet you are strong and willful. ' _Héros de la Galaxie_ ',  _oui_?"

At that moment, Ben turned around sharply as he heard someone yell out, "Ben! Oh, thank the Proteans! Come quickly!" Standing at the top of the bleachers surrounding the court was Ester! Jumping down to the court, Ester said, "The Kraaho need your help! The Hot-Spot is under attack!"

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben just couldn't believe his luck was that bad! Turns out, it was Princess Looma attacking the Kraaho. Ben couldn't wrap his mind around it; he thought they'd already settled things when Rook proposed to him in the traditional rhevonnahghander way!

"Ben Tennyson!" Looma exclaimed. "I had planned on sending a servant to your home to announce your invitation, but perhaps I could announce you invitation myself!" Looma then hopped off the ledge she was on and landed in front of Ben.

"Huh? What invitation?" Ben asked.

"To my wedding!" Looma said with such joy.

"You are getting married?" Rook asked.

"Yes! After that horrible Kevin Levin tricked me, I was so heartbroken I nearly declared war on all Earth men!"

"Glad she didn't," Julie muttered.

"But then, a Plumber scout team arrived requesting fuel. Among the crew was this handsome tetramand halfling. It was love at first sight!"

Ben smiled and said, "That's great, princess, really! But, why are you attacking the kraaho?"

"Oh, it is a tetramand tradition! Before her wedding, the bride must collect four things: something conquered, something bruised, something severed, and something blue!"

"And how do the kraaho fit into that?" Rook asked, aiming his proto-tool and the tetramand princess.

"Well, since Manny is half human, I decided to find my items here on Earth, and since the kraaho are the only warriors here on Earth, I decided I would take one of them to be my 'something conquered'." Looma's eyes then widened in realization as she said, "Ooh! You can be my 'something blue'! Ben won't mind if I borrow you, right Ben?"

"Actually, Looma? Yes, I would mind," Ben said just before he activated the omnitrix and transformed into Humongosaur. "And so would Humongosaur!"

Humongosaur was joined in his fight by Fistina, who didn't want her 'Little Man' put in harms way. Looma, however, proved to be more than a match for them both. After incapacitating Humongosaur and Fistina, Looma ran off with Rook, Julie, Ester, and Hervé in her bag.

Ben came to and realized that he was going to need help.

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben and Fistina managed to track down Looma to a small house in the outskirts of town. This was the home of Manny's human mother. Ben and Fistina arrived just in time to see Looma presenting her sack of four items to Mrs. Armstrong.

"Looma!" Ben cried out.

Looma turned around and, with a pained expression said, "Now is not the time for this! As is tetramand tradition, I must present my items to my mother-in-law before the wedding ceremony can commence!"

Ben sighed and said, "I really hate to do this, Looma, but you've given me no choice." Ben then activated the comm in the omnitrix and said, "It's your turn."

Looma gave a look of confusion until a voice said, "Looma! I thought we'd talked about this!"

All eyes shifted to the roof of the house where stood Manny Armstrong, both pairs of arms crossed in a displeased manner.

"Beloved! I-" Looma stuttered out.

"Save it. I told you I didn't want you to kidnap people to satisfy your tetramand tradition. If we're gonna make this work, you have to abide by  _Earth_ tradition as well. I told you that you were only to collect 'something old', 'something new', 'something borrowed', and 'something blue'."

"Well, I did collect something blue, beloved," Looma said proudly. "I also found us a photographer!" She then placed her bag down and opened it to reveal the people inside.

Manny jumped off the roof and landed in front of Looma. It was a rather silly sight to see; Manny at only 6'5" and Looma at just over 7' tall, and yet, Looma seemed to be wary of Manny! Manny growled at his mother to go back inside, saying he would handle this. His mother, fully aware of tetramand customs (her late husband having been one) nodded her understanding and obeyed. "Let them go, Looma," Manny growled. "It's bad enough you kidnapped a Plumber, but that you also kidnapped the leader of a group of refugees and two innocent humans, one of which doesn't have Plumber security clearance of any kind!"

Manny quickly ducked and did a sweeping kick to knock Looma off her feet. He then jumped on top of the downed tetramand princess and placed on hand around her throat, another hand pulled back for a bunch, and the other two holding down Looma's top row of arms.

"The next time you feel like harming innocent people, don't," Manny hissed before punching Looma in the face with all his might before getting off her and walking over to the group of onlookers; Ben and Fistina had ran over to Looma's bag to help everyone out during the commotion. Everyone was starring at Manny like he was a monster except for Fistina.

"Sorry you had to watch that," Manny said, "but that's tetramand's for you; all the know is violence." He then winced and shook the hand he had punched Looma with in the air. "Damn, girl's got a skull made of concrete!"

"Will the princess be alright, then?" Rook asked.

Manny turned around to Look at Looma who was getting back on her feet. She rubbed her face where Manny had punched her as she walked over to Manny. Ben and Rook took fighting positions, but were stunned when Looma knelt down and, with a contrite look, said, "I apologize to you all for my actions. I dishonored my husband-to-be and my tribe. The tribe of Red-Wind will pay for all damages done to the kraaho hot spot in Undertown."

"That...will be acceptable," Ester said, unsure of what was going on.

"Silly runts," Fistina said, "in tetramand society, arguments are solved by fighting! The loser must then make reparations or their honor, and that of their tribe, will be forever tarnished."

"Well, Manny  _was_  one to always try and settle a problem with his fists," Ben quipped with a wry smirk. "It's the one thing he's good at."

"Mmm, yes, but that's not  _all_  he's good at...right, Beloved?" Looma huskily cooed into Manny's ear. Her right hand was sliding along the side of his chest suggestively, causing Manny to clear his throat as he caught her hands, but didn't remove them.

"Well,  _that_  part I wouldn't know," Ben said with a chuckle, as Manny growled out Looma's name warningly, but with a husky undertone.

"I am proud to say I am Ben's first," Rook said with a pleased smile.

This poorly phrased statement, however, had everyone's eyes turned first to Rook, and then to Ben. Julie's was the worst, though. Her brow was quirked upwards and her grin was rather leering in nature.

" _Alien boyfriend_! He meant alien boyfriend," Ben said, laughing nervously as he elbowed Rook's side.

"First  _and_  last," Rook purred as he rubbed his side gently, easing the slight pain; Ben had a very bony elbow. He then pressed a kiss to the side of Ben's face.

"Aww, they're so adorable," Looma gushed, tightening her arms around Manny, causing him to be lifted off the ground.

" _Oui_ , love is always  _belle_ ," Hervé added, before giving a loving look to Julie.

"Yes, they are indeed a pretty sight," Fistina said, sighing in reluctant agreement. "It's always that way: the cute ones are either married, gay, or interdimensional time travelers."

No one had a comment for that one.

_**-BRoken-** _

It was almost sunset, and Manny had taken Looma back to Plumber HQ to fill out the necessary paperwork for the trouble she'd caused. Ben, Rook, Julie, and Hervé were flying back into town inside Ship. Fistina had been handed over to Loom and Manny because Rook could no longer stand her making doe eyes at him.

"So, uh, just how bad was this day?" Ben asked Julie.

Julie chuckled and said, "You know, I should be really mad at you for dragging me and my boyfriend into your usual alien-mess. But for the life of me, I can't!"

"Really?" Ben asked, a hopeful smile on his face.

"Really," Julie confirmed. "Ben, you've been my best friend for so long, I've gotten used to the life you lead. Your a hero, and you always will be. Just don't expect Hervé to kiss you on the knuckles ever again."

The two laughed while Rook and Hevé watched on in amusement.

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben and Rook had returned everyone to their respective homes, and underground Tribes, when Ben realized that he'd forgotten to return the necklace Fistina had stolen.

"Aww, man!" Ben groaned, holding up the gold chain with emeralds and pink sapphires dangling from it. "Now we gotta make another trip to the store to return the necklace!"

"Perhaps we should keep it. I will send a payment to the jewelry store tomorrow," Rook said, once the two had stepped into his apartment.

"Really?!" Ben exclaimed as his head spun around to face Rook, who had put up his proto-tool, while Ben had flopped on the couch and discovered the necklace still in his pocket.

Rook took the necklace from Ben and draped it around Ben's neck. Rook grinned, purring in pleasure at the dazzling contrast of the bright colors against his Heart's Flame's more earthly color.

"I couldn't ask you to buy this for me, Rook," Ben said, slipping it off and putting it on the coffee table. "It's way too expensive, we'll just take it back in the morning."

Rook frowned, but acquiesced to Ben's decision. "Alright," Rook said, sitting down next to Ben, and taking Ben's hands into his own as he did. He then began to rub them with an intense fondness, something Ben felt and which caused him to lean against Rook with a happy sigh.

"But I would like to be able to give you such a gift in the future," Rook said into Ben's hair, pressing a kiss onto the top of Ben's head. "It is my right as your future husband and Heart's Flame."

"Mmmm," Ben moaned contentedly, "well, if you can find a way that won't bankrupt you...go for it." Ben sighed in pleasure as he was held in Rook's arms.

Rook immediately decided that he  _would_  indeed find a way to give Ben such a wonderful gift. Looking over at the necklace, spread out on the table, shinning like so many stars, made Rook imagine it over Ben's neck, contrasted against his bare, sweaty chest as he laid out on their marital bed.

Such thoughts soon had Rook adjusting himself, and planning on immediately seeking out a way to gain such a gift for his beloved.

* * *

**Episode 29: Rad**

All of Undertown echoed with a loud, sharp screech as Ben Tennyson, in the form of Diamondhead, drug a large metal cage with the Gracklflint inside. This was quite an unusual site, even for Undertown, which led to many onlookers. Rook was leading the way, using his proto-tool's map function to lead them to their rendezvous point.

"Ugh, this would go a lot quicker if  _somebody_  was helping!" Ben said.

Rook smirked and said, "You need not strain yourself anymore, my love. Our transportation is here."

Ben/Diamondhead dropped the rope tied to the cage and snatched the proto-tool out of Rook's hand to look for himself. The small circular screen depicted two orange dots standing in front of a large black dot, with razer teeth jutting out at an angle. Diamondhead frowned and asked, "Our ride's in a black hole? Great! So what are we doing in Undertown?"

Rook caught his proto-tool as Ben/Diamondhead threw it back to him. "Not  _a_  black hole," Rook explained to Ben, " _the_  Black Hole."

They both turned to a bar just up the street with a sign depciting the same spiralling black spot Ben/Diamondhead had seen on the proto-tool's screen.

_**-BRoken-** _

Rook was a tad uncomfortable. This was his first time being in an establishment such as this. He was surrounded by the roughest and scariest bunch of aliens he'd ever met. Not to mention just how filthy the place was! And everyone had their eyes on him and Ben!

Ben...Rook had to admire Ben, or should he be concerned? Ben/Diamondhead sat there, looking very disinterested and unimpressed. Rook knew from Ben's record that his Heart's Flame had been in some rather rough alien neighborhoods and establishments before, but enough to make him this blasé?

"Magister Tennyson said that our pilot is the best in the business," Rook explained to Ben/Diamondhead, who had just eaten a chip dipped in some kind of green dip, only to cough it up and say that the green dip was  _not_ guacamole.

"What kind of business?" Ben/Diamondhead asked. "If he hangs out in this place, he must be one tough dude."

The old western-style cantina doors slammed open, with a short, squat figure standing at the threshold. The figure said, "Dudesman."

Immediately, a fearful chill swept through the other occupants of the bar. Rook and Ben/Diamondhead noticed the looks of wariness and fear on  _all_  of the other aliens as the figure walked towards them.

"Rad Dudesman," said the small baby-blue feathered duck. "You're plumbers?" he asked.

Ben/Diamondhead stared at Rad in incredulity for a second before bursting into giggles as he pointed at Rad and said, "You're a duck!"

"Ben," Rook gently admonished, not understanding why Ben found Rad to be amusing. Of course, Ben could find humor in almost  _any_  situation, and Rook found that trait to be quite endearing.

"Oh, sorry," Ben/Diamondhead said as he tried to stifle his chuckles, "But, come on, a  _duck_? Am I the only one seeing this?"

In the blink of an eye the bar was devoid of life, save for the three of them.

"Got a problem with ducks, rock-face?" Rad asked as he stepped right up to Ben/Diamondhead.

"Not yet," Ben/Diamondhead growled, not in the least bit intimidated by the alien fowl.

"Uh, Captain Dudesman, sir?" Rook butted in apologetically. "This 'rock-head' is Ben Tennyson: wielder of the Omnitrix."

Rad gave Ben/Diamondhead a lookover before saying, "Thought you'd be taller." He then walked away, leaving Rook and Ben/Diamonhead to follow. As Ben/Diamondhead was still in charge of dragging the Gracklflint's cage, Rook was given ample opportunity to run up to Rad and say, "Captain Dudesman, I believe you and I had our own business deal, did we not?"

Rad tilted his head up to look Rook in the eye and replied, "Our business will conclude later." He then added in a mocking tone, "You don't want any distractions from your mission, do you?" Rad then jerked his head in Ben/Diamondhead's direction and smirked.

Rook frowned at the subtle insult towards his Heart's Flame, but could not disagree with Rad's logic. Later would be good.

_**-BRoken-** _

"Ha! Gotcha!" Ben/AmpFibian exclaimed after directly hitting the intruder with his electrical attack. As Ben/AmpFibian neared the downed intruder, he silently cursed to himself as he recognized who it was before they got up.

"Pax?!" Ben cried out after returning to normal.

"Hey man! That's just wrong: zapping a dude when..." Pax fell silent when he realized he had been about to incriminate himself.

"What are you doing on the _Lovely Duck_?" Ben asked.

Pax stood up and replied, "Well, somebody needed to be sure the poor little guy was treated right."

"Who? Rad Dudesman?" Ben asked.

"The Gracklflint, man!" Pax clarified. "I'm here to, you know, look after his interests."

"The Gracklflint has only one interest," Rook said, very annoyed by the presence of the bumbling, peace-loving Florauna, "killing everything that isn't a Gracklflint!" It was a testament to how annoyed Rook was that he used a contraction.

"That's no reason to put it in a box, Plumber-man!" Pax shot back as he pointed an accusatory finger at Rook.

Rook was now quivering with rage. Ben noticed this and immediately went to his side and grabbed his hands. "Easy there, Rook. Just breath," Ben said to calm his Rhevonnahghander down.

Rook complied, taking a few deep breaths before his face relaxed. Looking down at Ben, Rook smiled and said, "Thank you, beloved. I fear what I might have done had you not intervened."

Ben smirked and replied, "Eh, after all the time's you've had to keep me cool-headed? Only fair I return the favor." Ben then gave Rook a teasing wink.

"D'awww, inter-species love at it's finest!" Pax said, looking at Ben and Rook. The two were so focused on each other, it was easy to see how much they cared for and loved each other. "Can you feel the love, Ducky-man?" Pax asked Rad.

"I think I'm going to be sick. We don't have time for this!" Rad said as he turned around and walked back the way they came.

_**-BRoken-** _

Things were going from bad to worse. With the engine, and many more of the  _Lovely Duck_ 's systems damaged by the Gracklflint, they were losing valuable time to get to the marooned Plumbers. And now, with an Incursean battleship bearing down on them, they were sitting ducks!

"The Incursean's are about to board us, and the Gracklflint has disabled our weapons!" Rook said. "If they capture us, they are likely to commandeer our  _cargo_!" Rook gave Rad a pointed look. "What of our business deal?"

Rad looked back at him and said, "Relax, I stand by my promises...my  _paid_  promises."

Ben looked back and forth between Rook and Rad with a look of curiosity and suspicion. "What are you two talking about?" he asked.

"It is nothing to concern yourself with at the moment, beloved. There are more pressing concerns," Rook answered.

Ben narrowed his eyes for a second, but then shrugged and said, "If you say so. I trust you."

As the  _Lovely Duck_  was pulled into the holding bay of the Incursean ship, Rad pulled out two pistols and readied them, turning off their safety switches. Rook set his proto-tool to it's assault rifle mode and armed it. Ben activated the Omnitrix and transformed into Grey Matter.

_**-BRoken-** _

After a flawless execution of Ben/Grey Matter's plan, the  _Lovely Duck_  finally made it to Terminus 3 and quickly administered the Gracklflint's venom to the marooned Plumbers. Once everyone was back on board, and Pyxi had the ship on a course back to Earth, Rad intercepted Rook as he and Ben went to join the other Plumbers in the ship's med-bay.

"Here, as promised," Rad said to Rook as he handed him a small rectangular box. It was about a foot long, two and a half inches wide, and about one and a quarter inches deep.

"What is that?" Ben asked.

Rook turned to Ben with a smile and said, "Ben, do you remember the necklace Fistina stole? It had been my intention to give it to you as a gift, but you insisted that it wouldn't be right if it meant bankrupting me."

"Yeah, I remember," Ben said, not quite following.

"I said that it was my right as your future husband and Heart's Flame to give you precious things. In the end, we agreed that if I could obtain precious items for you without spending more money than I had, you would take them gratefully."

It suddenly hit Ben what was going on. That box...wrapped in a lush violet velvet...

Before Ben could say anything, Rook offered the box to Ben with both hands and said, "It is with great joy that I offer to you, Ben Tennyson: Bearer of my Heart's Flame, and my future husband, this token of my love."

With shaky fingers, Ben lifted open the box and gasped as he saw the necklace inside. Two thin gold chains connected to a diamond-shaped pattern in the middle, like a four-petaled flower with four leafs. And hanging below this pattern was an oval-shaped emerald.

Rook smiled warmly and said, "It is called a Centauri Moon-Diamond necklace. Do you like it?"

"Do I like it? Rook, this is...how did you get this?" Ben asked, a very surprised look on his face.

Rook grinned sheepishly and said, "Captain Dudesman is not just a well-known pilot, he is also a well-known smuggler: capable of obtaining rare and precious items and selling them at discount prices."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ben exclaimed, "Is this necklace  _stolen_?!"

"Hmph, hardly," Rad said.

"With the collapse of the local economy in the Alpha-Centauri Conglomerate," Rook explained, "these once rare and precious necklaces, given to young women of affluence on their wedding day, were being auctioned off. I did some research, looking for the buyers who had purchased a necklace from the auction, and I found Captain Dudesman was one of them."

Ben looked quizzically at Rad and asked, "But why would you want a priceless piece of jewelry?"

"You never know when you might need it," Rad answered.

"Indeed," Rook said, "for I most certainly needed it."

Ben was stunned! Rook had done all of this for him! How had he gotten so lucky as to find a man who was willing to jump through hoops for him? Ben looked up at Rook with a smile, tears of happiness slowly crawling down his cheeks. "Will you put it on me?" Ben asked, his voice a little shaky.

"It would be my honor," Rook answered softly.

Ben handed Rook the box and turned around. Rook then gently pulled the necklace out of the box and reached around Ben's neck with it, before doing the clasp in the back. When Ben turned back around, Rook couldn't help the jolt of lust that shot through him as he saw the necklace upon Ben. In the blink of an eye, Rook grabbed Ben and pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss.

They wasted no time with formalities; Ben quickly granting entrance to Rook's forked tongue, which slithered around Ben's mouth, probing and stroking all of Ben's favorite spots before meeting with Ben's tongue. Together they moved from one mouth to the other, dancing along to the beat of their owner's heart's.

Eventually, Ben and Rook pulled back a bit to catch their breath. They looked into each other's eyes and smiled, basking in each other's presence and love. They never made it to the med-bay.

**END VOLUME VII**


	11. Volume VIII

**Episode 31: T.G.I.S.**

Three beeps and a flash of green, and Ben Tennyson was standing where his one of his alien alter-ego's, Shocksquatch, had previously. He shook hands with Zak Saturday as the young man introduced him to his father and brother, though how Zak could be related to Fiskerton was beyond Ben. "Huh...makes sense, if my boyfriend is a humanoid cat-snake alien," he'd said.

Zak's eyebrows rose into his hairline at that, but said nothing for now...though he would certainly have to make a priority of meeting this boyfriend of Ben's.

"We worked with your grandpa, Max, a while back on a Cryptid-related matter," Doc Saturday explained to Ben, trying to get back on subject.

Ben let his eyes take in the bulky figure of Doc Saturday, imagining the muscles underneath all that armor and chocolate skin. "Oh,  _those_  Saturday's! Grandpa Max told me about you guys," Ben said, now putting the pieces together of some story Max had told him that he'd only half-listened to. "But obviously not enough," he added with a tart wink.

Doc Saturday blinked stupidly, not quite understanding, and not really wanting too; didn't this young man just say he had a boyfriend?

"Dude, that's my dad!" Zak hissed in protest.

"What?" Ben asked, his tone defensive, and his grin disarming, proving that this was all just a joke. "A guy can't look?"

"Uh-huh," Zak crossed his arms raising a eyebrow at the hero. "Anyway, we hunt down and track earth animals not yet identified by science; we call 'em Cryptids. Like Fisk here, and that chupacabra." Zak then looked up and smiled at his 'little brother', who loomed over Ben, obviously sensing his 'big brother's' attraction to the Hero. ' _It's those eyes; damn if I couldn't get lost in them,_ ' Zak sighed in his mind.

"Chupacabra's?" Ben huffed a laugh of disbelief, shaking his head at Zak, while Doc walked behind Ben to stoop and hold a device over some claw-prints. "Come on, Chupacabra's aren't real!"

Zak gave Ben an incredulous stare and replied, "Says the hotty with the 'Magic Watch' that lets him turn into different aliens. Chupacabra's  _are_  real." Zak smirked at slipping in the compliment. Ben was briefly distracted by staring at his watch when it was mentioned.

" _Magic_?!" Ben cried out before holding up the Omnitrix and pointing at it, before stopping and processing what Zak had said. "...You think I'm hot?""

Zak responded by placing his hand on his waist, cocking his hip to the side, and giving Ben a cocked-eyebrow smirk.

"Sorry, Ben, but my son is right..." Doc spoke up and got to his feet to turn to the two teens.

"You think I'm 'hot', too?" Ben asked cheekily.

"Wha-What!?" Doc sputtered in surprise. "I meant that the chupacabra's are  _real_."

Zak and Ben chuckled at the embarrassed look on Doc Saturday's face while Fiskerton gave Ben a frown of disbelief. Doc just awkwardly looked off to the side as a blue-furred figure jogged up to the group.

"I am afraid the creature eluded me, beloved," Rook said, bending over and grasping his knee caps as he tried to slow his speeding heart rate. He then looked towards Ben and saw that he was not alone. Smiling amicably, Rook said, "Hello, you must be the Saturday's. Thank you for coming."

"This must be the boyfriend you mentioned. I can see the appeal," Zak said with a grin as he gave Rook an appreciative once-over.

"Dude, that's my boyfriend!" Ben exclaimed.

"Turnabout is fair play," Zak replied with a wink.

Understanding filled Ben's eyes before he chuckled and replied, "Okay, okay, you win."

Rook tilted his head to the side in confusion and said, "I am not sure I understand. Have I missed something?"

"Don't ask," Doc Saturday answered with a mild blush.

Fiskerton added a growl of agreement.

_**-BRoken-** _

_"_ Down there is the Control room, and there's the game Room," Zak said, as he lead Ben and Rook down a hallway in the Saturday's airship.

Ben turned a pair of bright green puppy eyes upon Rook and said, "Rook, we definitely need our own Air-ship!"

"We already have a space-ship, and an underground headquarters, beloved," Rook responded in a tone similar to that of a parent chiding their child for coveting a friend's toy.

Zak, however, took pity on Ben and replied, "Don't worry, we can stop by there afterwards." He then smirked and added in a flirtatious tone, "I'm curious to see how you handle a 'joystick'."

Rook felt a bit incensed that Zak Saturday was so openly flirting with his boyfriend! However, he was confident that his Heart's Flame was only taking it in jest, and was not legitimately considering servicing the other young man.

As they approached the med-bay doors, they found their way blocked by two creatures; a pterodactyl-like creature , and an overgrown lizard. Zak introduced them as Zon and Komodo. As Ben knelt before Komodo, the green lizard lept into Ben's lap and began licking his face.

"Whoa!" Zak exclaimed in surprise, "Komodo doesn't warm up to  _anybody_  that quickly!"

Ben pushed Komodo off and wiped the saliva off of his face before saying with a cheeky grin, "I have a way with guys with forked-tongues." He then gave Rook a wink and said, "Right, Rook?"

Rook blushed and looked away, though deep down he was pleased to be the focus of Ben's attention.

_**-BRoken-** _

After meeting Zak's mother, who Ben had to admit was quite beautiful, they decided to conclude the tour with Zak's bedroom. Zak was about to show Ben files on all the Cryptids they had encountered when an advertisement for the show 'Weird World' appeared.

"It's too hard to catch on TV when you're saving the world all the time," Zak said jokingly to Ben.

Ben smiled in return and replied, "I know, right? And every time I'm about to get past Level 12 on 'Sumo Slammers: World Tournament', some bone-head alien tries to destroy the universe or something."

Rook noted how close Ben was to Zak...and not just in means of distance from each other. They were both human, they both had the same taste in entertainment, and they were the exact same age! It never really bothered Rook in the past how different he and Ben were, but now that it was on display...

Finding it unbearable to remain silent, Rook cut in by growling, "Yes, it must be difficult for you, not being able to watch your favorite programs."

Ben and Zak quickly looked behind them to Rook. Ben was particularly surprised at how upset Rook appeared to be. So, he turned to Zak and said, "Don't mind him; he grew up on a farm. A very  _serious_  farm."

Zak smirked and gave Rook an appreciative glance as he said, "But they do grow 'em big and tall; just the way you like them, right?" He then winked teasingly at Ben who was blushing like mad.

Suddenly, a deep, rumbling, growl echoed through the room, startling the two human boys. There heads began bobbing this way and that trying to locate it's source.

"What is that?" Ben yelps.

"Sounds like a Bobcat, or something really, really pissed," Zak answered.

Rook quickly clamped a hand over his mouth, surprised he had gotten mad enough to make that sound. He'd  _never_  heard himself or anyone in his family make that sound...except for his  _Ma'jun_. But then again, Rook Da always stated that she was...special.

_**-BRoken-** _

Following the chupacabra's trail lead Ben, Rook, Zak, and Fiskerton straight into Undertown. As they walked through the streets, Ben and Zak started chatting about their adventures. Ben spoke proudly of the summer when he first obtained the Omnitrix, making Zak jealous as his didn't start saving the world until he was 12.

"But I gotta say," Ben stated, looking over his shoulder at Rook, "I never thought I'd wind up working with, or dating, a tall, blue-furred, ninja, cat/snake-ish, Plumber."

"I don't think anyone could've imagined either of our lives," Zak responded with a chuckle.

"True. But I wouldn't trade Rook for anything in the world," Ben said, giving Rook a fond look as he did. "Not even for a Omnitrix."

At those flattering words, Rook gave a pleased smile, swaying side to side with delight.

"Yeah, I wouldn't have considered giving up my Kur powers for anything," Zak replied. "But if someone came by with the right offer," Zak said with a playful wink at Ben, "I might be willing to consider a trade."

Ben blinked, confused, but then quickly regained himself and smiled at Zak, as though nothing had happened.

Rook, on the other hand, was looking at Zak like a male animal interested in a female would a competitor.

"Mmm-fiikk, ba-ja ju," Fiskerton muttered under his voice. Zak, however, heard what he had said.

"Fiskerton!" Zak scolded. "I am not acting like a Caladonian boar in heat!"

Ben's and Rook's eyes widened in surprise and stared at the gorilla-cat, who simply crossed hisarms and muttered back some more unintelligible words that only Zak seemed to understand.

"That's different," Zak replied. "He understands how I am." He then added with a bitter tone, "And besides, he's not here is he?"

Fiskerton just huffed and turned his head to gaze at the various stands they walked by, ignoring his older brother.

_**-BRoken-** _

After the battle, as they watched the Plumbers load up the evil Cryptids, Ben turned to Zak and said, "Reporters will be here soon, Zak. Ready for that interview?"

Zak turned to Ben with a somber smile and replied, "Thanks, Ben, much as I'd like the world to know what I do, our work has to stay secret. Animo's not the only one who wants to hurt Cryptids. I'd rather keep them safe than be a star."

Ben turned to Zak and held out his hand as he said, "Well, it's been great saving the world with you."

"You too," Zak replied as he took the offered hand and shook it.

"And your dad!" Ben added bashfully, getting one last eye-full of milk chocolate skin.

"Still my dad, dude!" Zak exclaimed, giving Ben a playful push on the shoulder. "Oh, one last thing! Picture with you as an alien?" He then tossed a camera to a frowning Rook.

"You bet!" Ben replied, reaching for his Omnitrix as he spoke.

"I do not understand your fascination with Ben's aliens," Rook growled, glaring murderously at Zak. "I am an alien, as are most of the aliens in Undertown. In fact, to us, Earth is an alien world! And I do not appreciate your flirting with Ben, Zak Saturday. Just so you know, I am his  _boyfriend_ , his  _fiancee_  and his  _Flame Sharer_." He then shoved Zak's camera into his chest before continuing. "That means our life and souls are united, so you can forget about stealing him away from me!"

Ben was speechless; he just stared at Rook like he didn't know him anymore.

"Dude! I don't want him, I have a boyfriend!" Zak replied.

"Yet you feel the need to flirt with my fiancee?" Rook asked suspiciously.

Zak sighed and looked down as he answered, "He's been a little...distant...lately. He's the king of an underwater city. I thought if I got a picture of Ben  _and_  you in a suggestive pic with me, it would get his attention and make him get on track."

Zak then rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he said, "Sorry, I knew you were together, but not engaged. My bad...guess I let my hurt feelings hurt someone else."

A look of sympathy replaced Rook's earlier frown and glare as he said, "I too understand the troubles of a busy and neglectful boyfriend.

"And just who is this 'busy and neglectful boyfriend'?" Ben asked, hands on his hips, and a frown on his face.

Rook replied by giving him a pointed look.

A light-bulb seemed to go off inside Ben's head then, as he sheepishly replied, "Oh, Rook. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to...I shouldn't have..."

Rook smiled, having already forgiven Ben given the circumstances (though he would certainly have a long and in-depth discussion about Ben's obsession with the male head of the Saturday family). "Fear not, Beloved, I still love you," he said. He then took on a thoughtful look as he said, "Perhaps there is a way to regain your boyfriend's attention."

"How?" Zak asked, a look of excitement and mischief appearing on his face.

Rook answered by detaching a palm-sized rectangular chip from his Proto-Tool, pressing a few buttons, and then placing the chip on Ben's chest.

Zak and Rook then watched as a holographic 'second skin' appeared around Ben, effectively turning him into a copy of Zak Saturday.

Rook glanced at the real Zak with a smirk and said, "You may wish to capture this, as I will not do it again." He then moved to stand behind Ben-Zak, who was ogling his new appearance, and wrapped his arms around Ben-Zak's waist, and rested his head on Ben-Zak's left shoulder.

With a very sultry look, Rook whispered huskily into Ben-Zak's ear, "You really should smile, Ben. We are trying to make someone jealous."

Ben simply blushed, speechless at this rather mischievous side of Rook.

"Better Ulraj than you, Rook," Zak replied, as he quickly snapped a picture of the two.

* * *

**Episode 32: Food Around The Corner**

While Blukic and Driba were installing the chip that would allow Ben to remain in his Galilean form (having no clue how to initiate the Omnitrix's life-form lock function) Rook had been in the control room prepping the monitoring equipment. He had wished very much to be by Ben's side through this, but it was his responsibility to make sure they had fully-functional eyes and ears in the conference room. Settling for simply placing his index and middle finger against his lips before touching Ben's image on the screen, he then said a quick prayer for the success of the negotiations.

"The video feed is up and operational, Magister Tennyson," Rook reported as Max entered the monitoring room, along with the two Galvans.

"Our guests have arrived," Max replied, a touch of concern in his voice. In an effort to ease both his and Rook's tension, though, Max added with a smile, "And Rook, I told you to call me Max. We're gonna be family one of these days."

"Not if these negotiations go sour," Blukic drawled. "Most likely, they'll go south, and Ben will be forced to step into the war, wind up a casualty, and Rook will go crazy from grief."

Driba, Max, and Rook all leveled angry glares at Blukic, who just starred right back and replied, "What? This is all based on very sophisticated calculation of probabilities. I estimate the aforementioned scenario will have a likelihood of 87.41%."

"Let's get back to the matter at hand," Max said.

It was at this point that Ben asked Lt. Malice, "Are you wearing pants? Wait, wait, wait, time out! You wear clothes? Appoplexians wear pants?!"

"OF COURSE WE WEAR PANTS!" Malice replied. "LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, BEN TENNYSON, APPOPLEXIANS HAVE A HIGHLY ADVANCED SENSE OF SHAME. OOH, YEAH!"

There was absolute silence in the monitoring room for all but a few seconds before Driba said, "But that would mean, all this time Rath has been running around..."

"Buck. Naked," Blukic finished.

Max turned to Rook with a smirk and single eyebrow raised, and asked, "Did you know about this, Rook?"

"I assure you, Mag...I mean, Max," Rook stuttered, causing a grin to form on Max's face, "that had I known about this, I would have made Rath put on clothes."

"Mhmm," Max replied, not quite convinced, and glad to have something to tease the young man about so as to take both their minds of the delicate nature of the situation.

Rook, meanwhile, was losing himself to the mental image of Ben running around without any clothes, yelling out everything in an enraged tone, and acting tough. It was both amusing and arousing.

"Uh, son? Are you purring?" Max asked, pulling Rook out of his daydream.

Rook coughed and cleared his throat, all the while blushing at having been caught. "Forgive me, Max," he said.

Max patted Rook on the back and said, "Nothing to be ashamed of. You're not the first young man to have your imagination get away with you in public."

"Not to interrupt your touching male-bonding moment," Driba said, "but I believe there is something wrong with Ben."

At those words, Rook's eyes immediately went to the screen. Apparently, Ben had an unbearable itch. "Blukic and Driba, can you enhance the image?" he asked.

After a moment, the spot just under the right corner of Ben's mouth was magnified, and what appeared to be several dozen dark points were found to be clustered in that spot. Once the dots were identified as Huleks, the question of how to communicate with them arose. It was finally suggested that Rook be shrunk down, and enter the conference room through a ventilation shaft. He would also be given a two-way radio.

Of course, it was not until after Blukic and Driba had finished setting up the machine in the monitoring room that Driba chose to mention that it was still in alpha testing. However, it would take to long to contact any outside help. So, with a resigned sigh, Rook said, "Activate the machine."

A flash of light later, and Rook was no where to be seen. Blukic, Driba, and Max waited with baited breath to hear Rook's voice through the radio. When not a sound came, Blukic and Driba walked over to the platform to see if they could see him.

"It didn't work!" Driba exclaimed.

"We vaporized him!" Blukic added. He then leveled his partner with a glare and cried out, "Driba! This is all your fault!"

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is!"

"I am right here!" Rook said, repeatedly tapping the communicator in his ear. "Can you not hear me?" The worry in his tone rose as he realized they did not.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Max yelled, his voice filled with fury. "YOU KILLED MY GRANDSON'S FIANCE, AND THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE!"

"We didn't mean to," Driba sobbed out an apology.

"Do you have any idea what this will do to Ben?" Max growled. "It was bad enough when Levin dumped him, and he was just a cliché bad-boy asshole!"

Rook was startled by Max's use of a swear, as well as his venomous tone.

"But Ben is honestly and truly in love with Rook," Max continued. "Ben will never recover from this...never..."

It was then that Rook shot a volley of laser blasts at Driba from his Proto-Tool.

_**-BRoken-** _

After the conference had concluded, and Paltroon and the Huleks had been apprehended and locked up, Rook wrapped his arms around Ben and nuzzled his cheek. Ben chuckled and said, "I'm glad to see you too, Rook. Anything interesting happen while I was in the conference?"

"Mmm, not much," Rook said, too busy reacquainting his fur with Ben's skin. "Grandpa Max, Blukic, and Driba thought they had vaporized me, and that you would become lost in grief. That sorta thing."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up!" Ben said. "Did you just call Grandpa Max, 'Grandpa Max'?"

Rook purred an affirmative, to which Ben shook his head in amusement, and simply walked towards the elevator with Rook attached behind him.

* * *

**Episode 33: Oh Mother Where Art Thou**

Ben's and Rook's eyes went straight for the small crater as they climbed out of the garbage bin. Both were grateful that there were no signs of gore: just the tell-tale sign of a complete and utter vaporization of all matter in the blast radius. Thankfully, neither had a chance to think on the matter further as Ben's cell phone rang once more.

"Mom! Hi. Sorry about before," Ben said after flipping open his phone and putting it to his ear.

"You didn't forget, did you?" Sandra Tennyson asked. "You and Rook are coming over for dinner?"

"Yes," Ben answered, "we've just been buried in work." Honestly, it seemed like his mother had forgotten just how much effort it took to keep the universe safe from evil. Plus...Ben really wasn't a fan of her cooking.

"Can't wait. I really must remember to ask Max about getting in touch with Rook's family; we could have a lovely family dinner together."

Ben grimaced, already having nightmares of what Rook Da would say about Earth, it's culture, and it's food. "Um, maybe we should hold off on that for now. Don't worry, we've got  _plenty_  of time."

"Alright, I'll let you and Rook get back to work. Keep the planet safe, honey!" Sandra said before hanging up.

_**-BRoken-** _

Rook glanced at a twitchy Ben as they walked up to the front door of Ben's home (which was only until Ben turned 18 and could move in with Rook).

"Ben, are you well? I have not seen you like this before," Rook stated, "except when a peacock was nearby..."

"This is  _worse_  than a peacock, Rook," Ben replied with a shudder, "or do you not remember the last dinner with my Mom and Dad?"

"I remember it quite clearly. There was a meal consisting of...Buffalo Wings...though I am still confused by it's name," Rook said, frowning as they stopped at the front door. "I have researched buffalo's, and they do not posses wings of any kind."

Ben dropped the frightened expression to shake his head in amusement at his boyfriend's ignorance of human slang and terminology.

"Yes, but do you remember mom's dessert?" Ben asked his pointy eared boyfriend.

"The spinach smoothie?" Rook replied with a confused frown. "I found it quite delicious."

Ben gaped at Rook, before shutting it and looking to the front door as he pulled out his key to the house. "Well, that makes one of us...," Ben muttered.

Ben opened the door, yelling out, "Mom! We're here!" before he and Rook stepped inside.

Sandra stepped out around the corner and beamed on seeing her only child and future son-in-law.

"There's my two favorite men in the universe!" Sandra beamed, wrapping the two tightly into a warm embrace.

"Don't let dad hear that; he get offended," Ben joked.

Sandra huffed out a laugh, lightly tapping Ben's nose in response; her little gesture of affection from when he was younger.

"Your father knows he's my number one He-Man," Sandra said with a impish wink and giggle.

Rook didn't get the implication, but Ben gagged in mock disgust before crying out, "Moooooom!" in a horrified manner.

"Oh!?" Sandra exclaims in mock surprise, "I can't talk about my husband, but you can talk to your cousin about Rook?"

Rook turned to Ben with a raised brow and a smirk and asked, "You talk about me to your cousin?"

"And Julie," Sandra added with a grin."

"Moooom!" Ben whined once more.

A few minutes later, Ben and Rook were seated at the dinner table waiting for Sandra to put the finishing touches on whatever overly-healthy dish she'd concocted.

"I must admit, I do miss having meals at a table with family," Rook said to Ben. "It gives me a...'warm furry' feeling?"

"Warm fuzzy," Ben softly corrected with a smile.

"Right, a warm fuzzy feeling," Rook replied, obviously perplexed by the phrase, "that your mother would be accepting of me to eat dinner at her table."

"Well, when you gave me that ring for Christmas," Ben said, holding up the simple silver band on his finger, "you pretty much branded yourself a Tennyson." Ben then smiled coyly as he added, "The necklace was just icing on the cake."

Further flirting was brought to a halt when Sandra came out of the kitchen carrying a casserole dish full of tofu and wheat-germ nastiness.

_**-BRoken-** _

After Sandra confronted Ma Vreedle and convinced her to leave their planet, and Ben, alone, Ben and Rook climbed into the Proto-TRUK and headed back to HQ. Along the way, Rook said to Ben," This experience has certainly given me a new appreciation all mothers. They are, in their own way, great heroes."

Ben chuckled and said, "You can say that again. I certainly learned the hard way never to get between a mother and her child."

Rook nodded in agreement before taking on a pensive look. Finally, he said, "Have you ever thought of what it might be like to have children of our own someday?"

Ben looked to Rook with a wry grin and replied, "Technically, I've already got a dozen children."

Rook slammed on the brakes before turning to face his fiance. "What?!"

"Last year, Big Freeze gave birth to a clutch of Necrofriggian eggs. They're all floating out there in space somewhere," Ben replied with a grin before looking out towards the setting sun in a wistful manner. "Doubtful I'll ever see them again, but at least I know they're there."

Rook placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and replied, "You would very much like to have a child of your own, wouldn't you."

Ben nodded and said, "Yeah, but human biology doesn't work like that."

"Do not give up hope, Beloved," Rook replied. "I promise you, you  _will_  become a mother someday."

**END VOLUME VIII**


	12. Intermission 4: You Are Cordially Invited...

It was said to be  _the_ event of the century, the universe over; the wedding of Benjamin Kirby Tennyson and Rook Blonko. Planning began the day after Ben's high school graduation at his insistence. This was, of course, found highly amusing by friends and family; after all, a three-year engagement was time enough!

The entire Rook-clan was brought from Revonnah to Earth to discuss the wedding arrangements. Using one of the negotiation chambers within Plumbers HQ, Ben, Rook Blonko, Rook Da, Rook Bralla, Carl Tennyson, Sandra Tennyson, and a rather strange Revonnahgander woman who claimed to be Blonko's  _ma'jun_  (godmother) sat down to make initial arrangements. Rook Da quickly made it clear that he would budge from his stance of the two young men having a traditional Revonnahgander binding ceremony. Carl, of course, couldn't believe the nerve of his counterpart demanding such things, and so demanded a traditional Terran-American ceremony.

Thankfully, both men had married calm, cool, and open-minded women. Sandra and Rook Bralla made the suggestion that both ceremonies take place, which appeased both bull-headed men. That is, until Rook's  _ma'jun_ , Vanessa, opened her big mouth and asked, "But which ceremony will they have first?"

All that settled, it was decided that the weddings would take place during the first week of December, giving them roughly 6 months to prepare.

_**-BRoken-** _

After months of preparation, the time was drawing near for Ben's and Rook's first ceremony, which was to be held on Revonnah. Rook had already returned home a few days prior to take part in certain traditions expected of the groom before the ceremony. However, he had sent Vanessa in his stead to collect Ben and his family and bring them to Revonnah.

At Plumbers HQ, Ben, along with his parents, Gwen, Ken, their parents, Max, Verdona, and Cooper, watched as a ship landed before them.

"This must be Vanessa's ship, the  _Kueen Khaos_ ," Ben said.

"Oh, it certainly is," Verdona replied with a smirk. "I'd know that aura anywhere! Smells like lilac and mischief."

Ben turned to look at Verdona with a dumbstruck look and exclaimed, "You know Vanessa?!"

"Of course! We've known each other for ages!" Verdona replied.

"So, why didn't you say anything before?" Ben asked.

"You never asked, so I never told," Verdona replied with an innocent smile.

"Rule Number One, never volunteer information," a haughty voice said. Everyone turned to see a young Revonnahgander woman walking down the boarding ramp towards them. "Glad to see you're still kicking the universe in the nads, Verdona," she said with a smirk.

Ben took the time to take in the woman's features. She was was older than Ben, but much younger than either Rook Da or Rook Bralla...perhaps old enough to be their baby sister? The inner most part of her face was a light shade of violet, while the outer most part of her face was a sort of medium grayish pink. Her long, flowing hair, which reached down to her waist, was a shade of dark lavender.

"Well, let's not waste any time, my godson's about screw up his life," Vanessa said lazily.

"Isn't Rook getting married to Ben?" Cooper asked confusedly.

Vanessa simply looked away and whistled innocently.

Ben knew in that moment that he hated Vanessa.

The flight to Revonnah lasted only a few hours, which Ben was grateful for as Vanessa had chosen to set the  _Kueen Kaos_  on autopilot so that she could mingle amongst the humans (read: subtly complain about Rook Blonko's poor choice of husband right in front of said husbands family). Thankfully, Carl, Sandra, Frank, Natalie, and Max ignored it; dealing with in-laws like Vanessa must have become second nature to them.

The Tennyson arrived on Revonnah two days before the ceremony, which would allow them to rest, acquaint themselves with the planet and the people, and prepare for the ceremony. Rook Brillig, Rook Blonko's baby brother, ran up the boarding ramp and jumped onto Ben in an over-enthusiastic hug. "Welcome back to Revonnah, Rook Ben Tennyson!" he exclaimed.

Ben chuckled and hugged the giddy little 12 year old back. "Thanks, Brillig. It's good to be back."

"Come," Brillig said after removing himself from Ben, "I must show everyone to their rooms." Brillig then lead the Tennyson Family charge across fields of amber-ogia and to the Rook Family home.

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben and Rook stood in the middle of a circle of lit candles. Every member of Rook Blonko's village had come out to witness the ceremony.

Rook looked to Ben with a smile and said, "Here in this circle of fire, which fights back the darkness that might oppress our love, I give you my heart's flame so that I might bind it with yours until my last day." Rook then held out his hand which bore a lit candle.

Ben smiled as well and said, "Here in this circle of fire, which fights back the darkness that might oppress our love, I give you my heart's flame so that I might bind it with yours until my last day." Ben then too held out his hand which bore a lit candle.

The two then brought the flames of their candles together; two wicks bearing the same flame. They both then sprinkled a powder over the flame and watched in satisfaction as the flame turned white as snow!

Together they said, "United, the flames of our heart's burn with the brightest and purest love. What this day has forged, may no force tear asunder. So mote it be."

"So mote it be," echoed their audience.

_**-BRoken-** _

The next day, Ben, Rook and their families boarded  _Kueen Kaos_  once more for a trip to Earth for one last ceremony. Ben and Rook spent the whole time just starring at each other with smiles on their faces, and holding hands. Not even the fake barfing sounds Vanessa made each time she passed them could damped their spirits!

Back on Earth, the Rook family was taken into Carl's and Sandra's home. Rook Da and Rook Bralla were given the guest room, Rook Shar, Rook Shim, Rook Shi, and Rook Brillig were given sleeping bags to sleep in the den with. Thus, leaving Ben and Rook all on their own in Ben's room.

The day of the Earth ceremony, Ben was in his room putting some last minute touches on his tuxedo. At the sound of a knock on his door, Ben called out, "Come in!" before turning around. He'd been expecting either Gwen or his parents. What he got was Rook Da!

"I hope I am not intruding," Rook Da said.

"N-no! Not at all!" Ben said. "So, uh, what's up?

Rook Da raised a single brow at the curious phrase before saying, "I have come here to apologize."

"Apologize?" Ben repeated in confusion. "Apologize for what?"

"Surely you have noticed my stand-off attitude towards you; I am here to apologize for that."

Understanding dawned in Ben's eyes, and he smiled at Rook Da as he said, "Nothing to apologize for. You were being protective of your son. Kinda wish someone had protected me from my last boyfriend."

"Rook Blonko mentioned there was once another. He said that he broke your heart, and then he broke your cousin's heart," Rook Da said. He then sighed and said, in a self-deprecating way, "My son saves a young man from a dying Heart's Flame, and I treat that man like a blight upon my house!"

"We all make mistakes. I make them every day!" Ben said with a grin, hoping that it would cheer his father-in-law up. "Sometimes, all you need is a fresh start. So, how about after today, you and I will give each other a clean slate. Deal?"

"It is a deal," Rook Da concurred.

_**-BRoken-** _

"Dearly beloved," the officiator said, "we are gathered here on this momentous occasion to join Rook Blonko and Benjamin Tennyson in the bonds of holy matrimony. I believe the grooms have chosen to write their own vows, which they shall now say to one another." The officiator then motioned for Rook to begin.

"Ben, two years ago, I made you a promise that I would never leave you. At that time, I had thought I was making that promise under the assumption that we would become like brothers. How very pleasantly surprised I am today to reaffirm that promise to you as your husband. I love you, Ben Tennyson, and for that very reason I promise to never leave you or hurt you."

Smiling, the officiator turned to Ben, who was hiding his tears, rather poorly, at Rook's touching vow, and motioned for him to speak.

Ben sniffled a bit, wiped at his eyes, and cleared his throat before saying, "Rook...I don't know where I'd be if not for you! That night, two years ago, I was at my lowest. You actually climbed up a tree, entered through my bedroom window, and offered my chili fries and a smoothie!"

At this, all the human's present chuckled.

"I yelled at you, practically tossed you right out the window! If not for me being a total klutz, I don't know if we'd be here today! Thank god I tend to leave my dirty laundry on the floor."

Rook cracked a smile at this.

"I promise that while I might not be the easiest person to live with, I'll certainly fill your life with excitement, humor, and love."

The officiator smiled and said, "Well spoken, both of you. Now, Rook, take your ring, and place it on Ben's finger as you say, 'With this ring, I thee wed.'"

"With this ring," Rook parroted as he slipped the ring onto Ben's finger, "I thee wed."

Turning to Ben, the officiator said, "Ben, take your ring, and place it on Rook's finger as you say, 'With this ring, I thee wed.'"

"With this ring," Ben parroted as he slipped the ring onto Rook's finger, "I thee wed."

Seeing this, the officiator then declared, "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and husband! You may kiss!"

And everyone jumped up from their seats clapping, whistling, and carrying on as Ben and Rook kissed.

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben and Rook were now making the rounds at the banquet. Everyone was congratulating them and asking for pictures, which they were both glad to give. Eventually they came upon a guest they had not expected.

"Azmuth!" Ben exclaimed happily as he grabbed the Galvan scientist and hugged him. "I'm so glad you came!"

Only after being set back down and brushing himself off did he say, "As the creator of the Omnitrix it is my responsibility to keep an eye on it. If that means witnessing a Terran wedding ceremony, then so be it."

Ben smirked and said, "Just admit it, you like me and you wanted to come to take part in the happiness."

"I admit nothing," Azmuth replied stubbornly. "Now, as I understand it, it is necessary to give the bride and groom a gift on their wedding day. In a standard, heterosexual pairing, it is often the goal of said pairing to create offspring so as to carry on the bloodline, and to pass down knowledge. Homosexual pairings, unfortunately, aren't able to achieve the former half of the goal. Now, while that might be satisfactory for some, I believe the wielder of my Omnitrix deserves better!"

"Huh?" Ben asked.

Azmuth sighed before saying to Rook, "You'll really have your hands full with this one." Then, to the both of them he said, "What I mean, is that I am developing an upgrade for the Omnitrix which shall be complete in a few months. This upgrade will allow Ben to conceive, and carry to term, your own child."

"WHAT?!" both Ben and Rook exclaimed.

Azmuth smiled and turned to walk away, saying as he did, "Neither of you need thank me, this is all just empirical research to me. Imagine the contribution to science I'd make if I could give to males the one thing that has set women apart from them since time began! Farewell, Rook Blonko Tennyson and Rook Ben Tennyson!"

And with that, he was gone.

_**-BRoken-** _

_It's been a long time coming since I've seen your face_

_I've been everywhere and back trying to replace_

_Everything that I had 'til my feet went numb_

_Praying like a fool that's been on the run_

Ben and Rook were now sharing their first dance as husband's. Ben had chosen the song as he said it reminded him of how he'd felt when he and Rook first got together. The first time they'd danced to this song had been at Ben's senior prom. They'd garnered quite a few looks from fellow students. Compared to back then, this dance was far more special. It felt as though they'd come full circle.

_But with you_

_I feel again_

_Yeah with you_

_I can feel again_

_I'm feeling better ever since you knew me_

_I was lonely soul but that's the old me_

As Ben looked into Rook's eyes, he saw the love that Kevin had denied him, and that Rook would always give him. Ben wasn't lonely anymore. And, perhaps, his heart was no longer broken.

**END INTERMISSION**


	13. Volume IX

**Episode 34: Return To Forever**

Ben starred at the alien you'd just fired at him with an incredulous look as he said, "That? Not so much." He then quickly activated the Omnitrix and turned into Rath. "LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, UNDERTOWN LOW-LIFES: NOBODY GETS TO HOLD UP TOURISTS AS LONG AS RATH IS AROUND!"

"Ben!" Rook hissed, giving Ben a sidelong look. "I thought we had agreed you would not turn into Rath until Blukic and Driba could program clothing for it." Ever since finding out that Appoplexians did indeed wear clothes, and that Rath was essentially naked, Rook had insisted that Ben not use it.

Appoplexians weren't the only ones with a highly evolved sense of modesty, and the thoughts that would swim through Rook Blonko's mind as he tried  _not_  to stare at Rath's crotch were anything but.

Ben didn't have a chance to retort as the two alien low-lifes began shooting out a barrage from their guns. Ben dodged, and tackled the tall, thin alien. Before the shorter, two-faced alien could shoot him point blank in the face, Rook fired a grappling hook which tugged the gun out of the alien's grasp.

"Shall I repeat the part about surrendering?" Rook asked, catching the gun as he did.

"DON'T WASTE YOUR BREATH, ROOK BLONK: ALIEN FIANCE, LOVE OF RATH'S LIFE, CONFIDANT, SUBJECT OF WET DREAMS, WHO SPEAKS WITHOUT USING CONTRACTIONS!" Ben replied with a feral grin.

The battle raged on, leading to the utter trashing of the Undertown Tour Bus. The bus driver glared at Ben and growled, "Look what you did to my bus!"

Ben looked back at the bus driver, his expression looking mildly apologetic and sheepish. "Yeah, kinda went overboard again, didn't I? I can totally pay for that."

"You have money to pay for the damages?" Rook asked in surprise.

"Yeah! Didn't I tell you?" Ben explained ecstatically. "I  _finally_  won that lawsuit against 'Super Alien Hero Buddies', so I got $500 million worth of gratuities paid to me in one lump sum. Mom had it put into savings in case I decided to go to college, but I'm not really college material, and I tend to cause a lot of environmental damage."

Rook smiled with pride as he walked towards his fiance, the alien criminals already locked up into the Proto-TRUK. "I am pleased to hear you are willing to take responsibility."

"Hey, I'm not  _always_  a self-centered, egotistical dork with a wicked cool watch," Ben replied with a grin. "I'll have you know I can be quite generous and responsible when I feel like it!"

"I never once doubted it," Rook said before leaning down to steal a kiss.

Later, out on the Undertown docks, Ben and Rook were enjoying a nice break from patrols and beating up bad guys. Ben had gotten himself a smoothie while Rook played with his tablet computer. The peace and quite was nice at first, but Ben quickly began to feel boredom creeping in.

He cast a glance down at Rook who was nose-deep in his tablet. "Where'd you get that from, anyway?" Ben asked.

"My  _ma'jun_...godmother...gave it to me," Rook answered.

Ben's eyes widened a bit in surprise. "You have a godmother? Why haven't I met her?"

Rook pressed his lips together into a thin line and bowed his head slightly before saying, "It is best that you not meet her for awhile. She is...eccentric...and I fear she would give you reason to leave me."

Ben sat down next to Rook and said in a soft and reassuring voice, "If your father hasn't scared me off by now, then nothing will." Deciding a topic change was necessary, he looked down at the tablet and asked, "What are you doing, anyway?"

"I am surfboarding the internet," Rook answered, earning a chuckle from Ben for his misinterpretation of the phrase. "It provides a fascinating insight into 'human culture'," he continued, scrolling down the page he was currently on, which depicted a boy named Steven holding a depressed looking cat. "Kit-ten video, Kit-tay video. Look," Rook smiled as he examined a particular page, "this one wishes to 'has cheeseburger'."

Ben peered over Rook's shoulder to see the videos and captioned pictures Rook was currently entranced by.

Rook then flipped to a new page and said, "And take a look at this: a young human writes a bloge about the presence of aliens on Earth."

"You mean 'blog'," Ben corrected.

Rook began scanning through the blog before stopping at a picture of it's author. "He mentions you frequently, Beloved. Another fanboy admirer?" he asked, concerned of another 'Billy Billions' incident.

Ben looked at the picture being displayed and chuckled. "Oh! That's Jimmy Jones. He's a conspiracy nut, but he's a sweet kid who insists on documenting my whole life story. He doesn't embellish, nor does he spin the story in a negative way. He's the only journalist I trust."

Rook took in Ben's smile and said, "You care very much for him."

Ben shrugged and said, "It's hard to explain. Gwen once described it as a cross between a big brother and a mama bear protecting their little brother/cub."

"Actually," Rook said with a warm smile, "it makes a great deal of sense. According to your Plumber file, you scored in the highest percentile in the realm of protective instincts. It is a very admirable trait."

Ben returned the smile and laid his head on Rook's shoulders.

Returning to the blog, Rook asked, "Is this the Jimmy Jones who exposed your secret identity?"

Ben chuckled and replied, "Yeah. I was a little upset at first, but I had to hand it to him. For him to have put the pieces together like that was pretty impressive. We talked about it later and now it's his job to keep the record straight when so many others try to swing my acts one way or the other."

"But does that not render your every movement a matter of interest to the media?" Rook asked.

"Uh-huh," Ben huffed out.

Rook grinned at Ben's response and teased, "Which precludes your ability to find a healthy relationship with someone of either gender, thus resulting in your short-lived time with  _Him_ , thus resulting in your now being with me."

"Your point?" Ben asked around a wry grin.

Rook shrugged and said ever so innocently, "Simply pointing out that were it not for this boy, you and I might never have found one another."

Ben playfully elbowed Rook in the chest and rolled his eyes. "Don't you have a 'Kit-tay' video to watch?"

Rook just smiled in triumph as he returned his attention to the blog. Scrolling down a bit, though, he saw a rather curious story. "What is this about you and Ester having a 'Girl's Night Out'?" he asked.

"Oh," Ben said blushing a bit. "Ester and I got mani-pedis and went to a movie. She was depressed because of Argit."

"Ester and Argit?" Rook asked in amazement.

"Yeah. Weird, right? The whole 'Looma' incident sorta brought them together. Anyways, they had a fight and broke up, and Ester needed some support, so..."

"...So you came to her rescue," Rook finished with a smile. "Most kind of you. Perhaps she will find someone of higher quality, just as you did after  _Him_."

Ben was about to respond, but stopped when he heard the sound of a child screaming, "HELP!" Ben looked up and saw the very boy he and Rook had just been talking about being held by a man in a metal suit! "Jimmy?!" Ben saw red and quickly activated the Omnitrix, turning into Ripjaws. Ben then dove into the water and rapidly made his way to to the other side of the dock where he leapt up through the wooden walkway, right between the metal man and Jimmy, and thus separating them.

"Hold your breath!" Ben hissed as he grabbed Jimmy midair and sent them both back into the water.

Rook fired several shots from his Proto-Tool at the metal man as Ben and Jimmy resurfaced. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, the metal man ran off.

"Jimmy, are you okay?!" Ben cried after the Omnitrix timed out, patting the boy down as he did to check for any injuries.

Jimmy hacked and couched a bit in answer, some of the water having gone up his noes and nearly into his trachea. He made to wipe his nose with the sleeve of his jacket, but stopped when Rook offered him a hanky. "Yeah," Jimmy answered Ben sullenly after blowing his nose, "but the jacket's ruined." Jimmy was particularly upset by this since the jacket he wore had once been Ben's. However, Ben had given it to him as a birthday present, and he had sworn to take good care of it.

Ben rolled his eyes and forced Jimmy to look at him as he said, "The jacket can be replaced; you  _can't_!" He then sighed before pulling Jimmy into a hug. "At least your safe."

"Who was that strange man in the metal suit?" Rook asked.

"I saw two others like him in that video of the two of you stopping that bus robbery," Jimmy answered as he delicately extricated himself from Ben. Pulling out the wet photo he'd printed out, he pointed to the two pixelated figures in the background.

"Are those...?" Ben asked uncertainly, a ping of recognition sparking in his brain. However, he was interrupted by the return of the man in the metal suit.

"Get down!" Rook exclaimed as he pushed Ben and Jimmy down, and out of the way of a laser volley.

Reactivating the Omnitrix, Ben transformed into Diamondhead, and sent a volley of shards at their attacker. Striking the laser pistol in the metal man's hand, the pistol overheated and exploded, revealing the symbol on his chest. "And is that...?" Ben asked.

"Indeed; Sir Morton!" Rook answered. "A Forever Knight who, until now, was thought to be deceased. Meaning that the figures into Jimmy's photo are the infamous Forever Twins."

"Took the words right out of my mouth, babe," Ben replied as he returned to normal and quickly ushered Rook and Jimmy into the Proto-Truk.

"Curse you, Tennyson!" they heard Morton cry as they drove off.

Huffing a sigh of relief, Rook set the Proto-Truk on auto-pilot before climbing into the back where Ben was seated next to Jimmy. "What are doing here in Undertown?" he asked rather bluntly. "Why were those Forever Knights attacking you?"

"Rook!" Ben reprimanded. "Can't you see he's still shaken up? I know these are weird circumstances, but he's just a kid!"

Jimmy rolled his eyes smiled knowing Ben was looking out for him. He always did.

Rook sighed but conceded. "Of course, I am sorry, Jimmy Jones."

"Just Jimmy," Jimmy replied. "And, to answer your question, they're after me because of that photo I showed you two. If you look closely, you can see that the Forever Twins are holding a DNA scanner. I think they're trying to collect the DNA of every alien species they can get a hold of!"

"Uh, no offense, buddy," Ben said uncertainly, "but that image is so pixelated, how can you tell they're holding anything at all? Much less what it is."

"Cause I know alien tech when I see it!" Jimmy declared proudly.

"The Forever Knights are a xenophobic group," Rook said. "This sudden interest in aliens is highly suspect. We should investigate."

Of course, they first had to halt a stampede of pyroxivors...

_**-BRoken-** _

This was not turning out quite like Ben imagine. He was now sealed inside a force field, and every time he tried to activate the Omnitrix, it timed out, and Chadwick was planning on cutting off his hand to get to the Omnitrix!

The icing on the cake was discovering Will Harangue's involvement.

"Wow, Harangue, being an Incursian lap dog wasn't enough, now you've signed up with the Forever-Nuts?!" Ben exclaimed.

Will Harangue glared at Ben with nothing short of loathing and replied, "Oh, you'd know  _all_  about being in a lap, wouldn't you, Tennyson?"

Ben starred at Harangue incredulously before saying, "Was that a gay slur? Is  _that_  what this has been about!?"

Harangue huffed and crossed his arms defensively as he replied, "Hardly. It wass bad enough you were a faggot, but the fact that you're doing it with  _aliens_!? At least that Levin boy was human!"

Ben rolled his eyes and frowned before saying, "Dude, Levin was only  _half_ -human. And how do you know about Levin anyway?"

"Well," Harangue answered sheepishly, "I sorta had some spies follow you two. I suspected that Levin was talking you into illegal activity."

"As lovely as this all is," Chadwick cut in, "this is neither the time nor the place. Mr. Harangue, let me escort you to your car."

After Chadwick and Harangue left, Rook looked to Ben helplessly and said, "The Knights took our equipment, and no one knows we are here. I am sorry, Beloved."

Before Ben could say anything, the Proto-TRUK crashed through the wall! Once coming to a complete stop, Jimmy hopped out. "Hi, guys!" he said.

"Jimmy!" Ben exclaimed in pleasant surprise before he frowned and said, "Not only did you steal a car, but you drove it without a license?! When we get back topside, we are going to have words, young man!"

_**-BRoken-** _

The next morning, Ben immediately ran to his computer and went straight to Jimmy's blog. As the page appeared on his monitor, Ben grinned a grin worthy of Jury Rigg. Front and center was a picture of Will Harangue mutated into an alien. Under it was the headline: 'WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER CROSS BEN TENNYSON'.

Ben then saved the image to his hard-drive before shutting his computer down and getting on with his day.

* * *

**Episode 35: Mud Is Thicker Than Water**

"Have a good time at the car show," Gwen said to Cooper and Rook, "but not  _too_  good a time." This last one she aimed at her boyfriend. Gwen knew all too well that Cooper was bound to go wonko at the sight of so many vehicles which he could tear apart and rebuild into something that could compete with the Proto-TRUK.

"Don't worry, Gwen," Cooper replied as he placed a tender kiss on Gwen's lips, "I promise to put everything back the way it was before I leave." He then threw her a wink before Rook pulled out onto the road.

Gwen rolled her eyes and smiled before walking back inside Max's Plumbing. Inside, unfortunately, she found some unexpected, and unwanted, company.

"Psyyyche!" Lucy exclaimed before morphing from Grandpa Max into her human form.

_**-BRoken-** _

"There's now way Lucy has anything to do with this," Ben said as he and Gwen walked down the hallway.

"Hel-lo! These thefts started a few months ago," Gwen replied, "right at the same time she arrived."

"Look, it's one thing for her to borrow your favorite shirt, but do you really think Lucy is capable of stealing Plumber tanks?" Ben asked incredulously.

Gwen starred off and replied, "I don't know what she's capable of, but I'm gonna find out."

At that moment, Ben's cell phone rang. Ben flipped it open and said, "Hey, babe, how's the auto show? ...Whoa, I can barely hear you over all that screaming. Is everything okay?" Ben frowned and said, "I wish I could come and assist, but it's all hands on deck over here; I'll try to wrap this up quick as I can and get over there." Ben smiled lovingly and replied, "Love you too," and then hung up. He then looked up at Gwen and froze.

Gwen raised a single brow before turning to look behind her. She froze as well.

"Kevin?!" they exclaimed. Gwen then took on a murderous look and slammed Kevin's back into the wall using her mana powers. "HOW DARE YOU SHOW UP HERE!" She then sent Kevin flying face-first into the opposite wall. "AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO BOTH BEN AND ME, HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK TO SHOW YOUR FACE AGAIN?"

"Gwen, time-out! Psyche! Psyche!" Lucy cried out in fear as she shifted back into her normal form.

Gwen's eyes went wide as she realized what she'd done. Ben was at Lucy's side checking her over.

"Sorry about that, Lucy," Ben said. "I probably should have warned you about assuming Levin's form."

"I'm okay," Lucy said as Ben helped her to her feet. "So, uh, what exactly happened with Levin."

Ben wrapped his arms around himself and looked away before saying, "Levin sorta cheated on Gwen... _with me_. I was his 'dirty little secret. And when Gwen left for college, he went with her...and..."

"...And left Ben broken-hearted," Gwen ended, her voice steely and cold. "Ben had fallen in love with Levin, but Levin only wanted what would be most convenient for him."

Lucy gasped and gave both Ben and Gwen pitying looks. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know!" She then lunged forward and wrapped them both in a tight hug.

"It's okay. It all turned out alright," Ben said as he fished out his cell phone. He then flipped it open and selected an image file before showing the display to Lucy. "His name's Rook Blonko; and he's everything I've ever wanted that Kevin wasn't."

"He's gorgeous!" Lucy exclaimed, giving Ben a teasing wink afterwards. "Does he have a brother?"

Ben grinned and replied, "Yeah, but he's only 10 years old."

"Poo," Lucy replied as she fake-pouted.

_**-BRoken-** _

Back at Plumber HQ, Ben, Gwen, Lucy, Patelliday, and Max were over-seeing the imprisonment of Psyphon, Gorvan, and the other criminals. After they were sealed away, Ben's phone began ringing again.

"Oh! Almost forgot!" Ben exclaimed before answering the phone. "Rook! What's the situation? We just wrapped up ours and I can be at your location in a matter of minutes! ...Wait, what? Where's Cooper? ...Wait, how big are we talking here? ...Okay, okay, try not to make it any worse, I'm on my way!" He then hung up his phone, turned to Gwen, and said, "Um, I think our boyfriends may have had  _too much_  fun."

* * *

**Episode 36: OTTO Motives**

"Come on, Rook! You've got a hi-tech piece of revving machine here. I  _think_  it'll be okay if you drove  _at least_  at Vector-5!" Cooper said, obviously pained at seeing the Proto-TRUK being underperformed. He'd run a full diagnostic on it before using it to extract Ben and Rook when Malware attacked the Galvan homeworld; he knew very well what it was capable of doing.

Rook looked at Cooper out of the corner of his eye, only just sparing him a bit of attention so as to keep most of it on flying, as he asked, "Did we go through different Plumber training? You must have seen the Plumber's video; you  _know_  what organic matter looks like at light-speed."

Cooper nodded, conceding that particular point. "True," he said, "but that doesn't mean we should let the  _motionless asteroids_  pass us!"

"I have a loved-one to return to in one piece, as do you, Cooper Daniels," Rook pointed out a bit too harshly.

Cooper threw his hands up in the universal sign of surrender as he said, "Easy, Rook. I just meant we should try to live a little. I mean, when's the last time you were apart from Ben for longer than a night?"

Rook blushed, and said in a rather sheepish tone, "Actually...we have been spending our nights together as well."

Cooper blinked then grinned sheepishly in turn. "Damn..."

"It is not what you think!" Rook hastened to point out. "We merely use each others presence to sleep peacefully. I am used to sharing a bed with my little brother, and lately, Ben has had numerous night terrors involving Levin and Vilgax." Rook's tone dropped a bit in worry when he mentioned Ben's nightmares.

Cooper was stunned by this revelation. He'd always assumed Ben was so strong and willful that nothing could shake him so badly as to give him nightmares. "How do you think Ben is taking being apart from you like this?" he asked.

Rook grinned wryly before activating a HUD on the main view port. The words '50 NEW MESSAGES' blinked slowly in the center of the screen. "The reason I was driving slowly was so that I might listen to Ben's messages." His eyes narrowed mischievously as he teased, "I have also intercepted half as many messages from Gwen to you."

Cooper chuckled as he said, "Well, I'm in no rush to get to the auto-show."

_**-BRoken-** _

"Take it all In, Blonko!" Cooper said enthusiastically as he held out his arms in a grand, overall gesture. "The Khoros Car Show! One stop shopping for  _all_  your automotive needs! If you can't find it here, you can find a guy who'll build it for you." Cooper then grinned and poked his chest with his thumb as he added, "Namely,  _me_."

Rook smiled, pleased that Cooper was enjoying himself, as he said, "I assume you are an 'enthusiast'?"

"If my work on cars can be recognized here, I could make it big with my other technological workings!" Cooper explained. "I mean, I love being a Plumber, but it'd  _really_  help to provide Gwen with the life she's accustomed to, and to do that, I need to my inventions and make a tidy bundle."

Rook placed a comforting hand on Cooper's shoulder before saying, "I have spoken to Gwen, and from what I gather, the 'bundle' you have is more than enough for Sister Gwen. All she wants is for you to be honest, truthful, and loving, unlike..."

"Kevin Levin!" Cooper growled.

Rook frowned as he took on a far away look. "Yes,  _him_."

"No!" Cooper exclaimed as he pointed towards a singular figure about a block or two from them. "Kevin Levin!"

"Welcome, honored customers! May you find contentment in my many and varied wears!" the owner of the stall Kevin stood before called out.

Kevin had just picked up something and asked how much it was when Rook reached him.

"A reversed-calibrated lepton transducer? Those have been banned from twelve systems, Levin."

"And their still legal in thr-," Kevin turned to retort, but stopped short and gaped in shock at the expression on Rook's face. "Rook! Buddy! How's it going?" Kevin said cheerfully, though visibly a bit nervous.

"That's 'Plumber Rook' to you, Levin," hissed Rook. "And I am most certainly  _not_  your 'buddy.' "

"Come on, why so hostile?"

Rook's nostrils flared at the audacity of Kevin to downplay the harm he'd caused both Gwen and Ben. "You toyed with Ben's affections, cheated on his Cousin with him, mislead poor Sister Gwen, used them  _both_  when it suited you, and tried to get Ben, my Beloved, forcibly engaged to an alien princess!"

"Come on, can't we just let that be in the past?" Kevin said with what he hoped was a disarming smile.

"Ooh, you shouldn't have said that, Kevin," a squeaky voice said.

Kevin turned around and saw Argit standing behind him with his arms crossed and looking disappointed at him. Kevin in turn gave Argit a look of disbelief; honestly, who was  _he_  to criticize Kevin?

"Don't give me that look!" Argit screeched indignantly. "I've gone straight! No more scams, no more angles, nothing!"

"I..." Kevin stopped and looked beyond Argit with his eyes widening in shock and disbelief. "I don't believe it!"

"It is true," Rook reluctantly informed Kevin. "He has even been associating with the Krahoo Princess Ester; they are quite the 'Flavor of the Week'."

"Really?" Argit asked, thumbing his nose to hide his pleased grin. "Cool!"

"What?" Kevin tore his gaze from where he was looking to shake his head in frustration. "No! Not that! That!" he exclaimed, pointing off towards four purple-suited figures carrying a metal cylinder with a holographic face. "Is that who I think it is?"

"Who?" Cooper asked, genuinely curious when Argit turned and gaped in surprise.

"It can't be..." Argit whispered harshly in shock. "Five years we've been looking for that guy!"

"And now he's gonna get what's coming to him!" Kevin growled in anger.

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing," Rook hissed. But his face shifted to one of surprise and alarm as Kevin and Argit sprinted toward the small mechanical alien. Kevin got to him first, and after grabbing him to shake and kick him, Rook and Cooper gave chase.

"Levin, what is the meaning of this?!" Rook growled.

"Please, put them down," the mechanical alien said. Turning to Rook and Cooper, he then said, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is OTTO. Kevin and Argit here are old associates from my days in the Null Void. It pleases me greatly to see you escaped after all!"

"No thanks to you," Argit replied. "You left us there to rot!"

OTTO's holographic face took on a look of regret as he said, "I had no idea the device would only transport  _me_  out of the Null Void! I searched for a way to rescue you two, but alas."

"We found our own way out," Kevin growled, narrowed eyes focused on OTTO and a strong instinct to tear the bot bolt by bolt lingering in him.

"And the timing couldn't be better!" OTTO exclaimed joyfully. "I have a job lined up that requires a bit of extra muscle. Perhaps you two would be interested?"

Alarms began going off in Rook's head. Immediately stepping towards OTTO he said, "Given that you were once sentenced to the Null Void, I can only imagine that this  _job_  of yours may not be particularly legal. If you," and at this, Rook sent a look towards Kevin, "are entertaining any ideas of committing unlawful acts, I suggest you wipe them from your mind post haste."

"Is that so?" OTTO asked. "A pity. Guess we should get started then!"

And at that, three of the four men accompanying OTTO whipped out laser pistols and began shooting up into the sky.

Rook, Cooper, Argit, and Kevin quickly took cover behind some crates. Kevin looked to Rook and said, "Just how raw are you? Never tell a rogue that you're law enforcement!"

Rook grinned darkly and unamusedly at Kevin as he said, "Forgive me, I would have waited until  _after_  you signed on with him to arrest the  _both_  of you! As I hear it, the tetramands are quite fond of the death penalty."

Kevin gulped and made a mental note to toe the line for the rest of the day.

Cooper quickly did a visual scan of the area, noting all the nearby tech and running through a series of combinations that could be constructed. "I think I can give us a means to hold them off," he said, "but in the mean time, call for backup, Rook."

Rook nodded and pulled out his Plumber badge/communicator. "Beloved! Can you hear me?"

"Hey, babe, how's the auto show?" Ben said.

"The show is fine, however, we have run into some trouble here, and the crowd is in a panic!" Rook exclaimed.

"Whoa, I can barely hear you over all that screaming," Ben replied. "Is everything okay?"

"No, there are armed low-lifes attacking the show!" Rook said.

"I wish I could come and assist, but it's all hands on deck over here. I'll try to wrap this up quick as I can and get over there," Ben replied.

"Hurry, Belo-" Rook was interrupted when a laser blast shot through the crate and hit his comm-badge.

"Was that Benji?" Kevin asked, a small smile on his face. "How's he doing these days?"

Before anyone knew what had happened, Rook socked Kevin right in the face, effectively breaking his nose. "Better," he said. "Now get up and do something decent for once in your miserable life!"

Kevin picked himself up, realigned his nose with a sickening  _crunch_ , tore off the side of a nearby crate before encasing himself in a shell of pressure-forged infinitum. "I'll take point then, huh?"

"What about Blondie?" Argit asked. "Isn't he supposed to be helping?"

"I am helping," Cooper replied, the blue glow associated with the use of his technopathic abilities fading. In his hands was a an oval device with two rings wrapped in an 'X' formation around the equator. "It's an EMP bomb. If I can get close enough, it'll fry their guns, and OTTO himself! It will also transmit a virus into OTTO that should shred every line of AI code in his core."

"Effectively killing him," Kevin said with a grin, "I approve."

Cooper paused before running his hand over the oval. "Transmitter disabled."

Kevin looked positively scandalized. "Oh, come on! Seriously?!"

"Levin, add your infinitum shell to the bomb, I suspect it will need it," Rook commanded.

Kevin huffed a sigh and complied. In a matter of seconds, the EMP bomb was wrapped in a pressure-forged infinitum shell. "Don't know why you bother at this point. All it'll do is give him the equivalent of a concussion."

"Which would disable him and allow us to imprison him before receiving a trial," Rook explained as though speaking to a two year old.

Cooper quickly showed Rook how to set the timer on the bomb before Rook used Kevin as a human shield, and the two rushed OTTO and his men. Once they were close enough, Rook set the timer for five seconds, chucked it, and both he and Kevin watched as a compressed air wave preceded a bright flash of light. The pistols that OTTO's goons had shooting at them with fizzled, smoked, and promptly stopped functioning, as did OTTO.

After a group of tetramand guards carried OTTO and his men away, a booming voice yelled, "Where are they?!"

"I know that rumbling, baritone voice," Kevin squeaked in fear.

"Huh?" Cooper asked eloquently.

"It's Looma's father," Rook explained. "Warlord Gar."

"Who attempted this daring feat, and saved the car show?" Warlord Gar asked, before stopping and spotting the quartet. He focused his gaze solely on Rook, and stepped right up to him.

Rook braced himself as a loud, pleased growl erupted from the Tetramand Warlord.

"Blonko, Lad!" Gar cheered, enveloping Rook into a tight, three-armed hug.

"Ooof! Hello, your majesty..." Rook choked out amid the tight grip.

"He's lucky he's only got three arms, or that would've snapped his spine!" Argit whispered to Cooper.

"My, such a...joyful greeting...your Warlord-ship," Rook coughed as he caught his breath and brushed his fur.

"I should greet you in another way?" Warlord gar asked Rook.

"No. It is just...last we met, your daughter was upset over my breaking off her attempted engagement with Ben."

"Much as I admire and respect your Beloved, Rook Blonko, I feel better knowing my daughter is engaged to a tetramand, even if he is a half-breed," Gar replied.

"Speaking of her Lady-ship, where is Looma?" Rook inquired respectfully.

"As much as the princess enjoys a good auto-ahow," Gar said, "she and Manny Armstrong are off scouting out Honeymoon locations for the upcoming wedding."

"Isn't it a little early?" Cooper asked. "They haven't been married!"

"True, but it's never too early to prepare," Gar answered, before tilting his head at Cooper in question. "And you are?"

"Cooper Daniels," Cooper replied, "my girlfriend, Gwen Tennyson, met you when you threatened to destroy Earth? I was on the Plumber's Europa Base at the time." Cooper then jerked a thumb at Kevin and added, "She _was_  dating this guy, until she learned how he strung along your daughter and Blonko's beloved."

"Ah, yes!" Gar bellowed. "Best of battles to you."

"H-hey, Warlord Gar! You're not still upset with me about Looma?" Kevin asked, still wary of the tetramand king.

"Upset? Ha! If it weren't for your cowardice, my daughter would have never found proper husbandry in Manny Armstrong!" Gar replied before thumping Kevin's back.

Cooper snorted in amusement at the veiled insult, while Rook merely smirked in approval.

Gar then finally turned to the last member of the group and asked, "And who is this runt?"

Argit squeaked nervously before answering, "Argit, sir! Totally straight and narrow, upstanding citizen, dating a nice kraaho girl, never broken any hearts!" He said this all so quickly and with intermittent squeaks that it was difficult to comprehend, but the gist was gathered by all.

"Splendid!" Gar bellowed. "As reward for your services to my planet and people, I will make you four my honored guests for the rest of the show!" And with that, Gar and his men lead the four onward.

"Honored guests? Ha! Ka-ching!" Argit said with glee.

"Don't get your hopes up," Kevin replied.

Rook nodded and said, "No, Argit. My intestines do not speak well of this."

"What's that?"

"He means that he has a gut-feeling that something's wrong," Cooper answered.

"Oh! Ohhhhhh..."

As they followed Gar and his men, Kevin said, "Hey, if anyone wants my opinion..."

"And we don't..." Cooper cut in sharply.

"I think Rook is right," Kevin continued on, ignoring the interruption.

Cooper paused, looking at Kevin with surprise. "He is?" Cooper asked, before seeing Rook's cocked-eyed look. "I mean, how so?"

Kevin frowned and answered, "Something doesn't add up. OTTO wouldn't pull a stupid stunt like that, not for chump change anyway."

Rook bowed his head in thought as he said, "Kevin is right." At that, Cooper and Argit looked at Rook like he'd grown a second head. In response Rook explained, "He knows OTTO better than us; the AI must have a different plan in mind."

"This way, my friends!" Gar called to them. "You must see my private vault, where I keep the four most rarest and most valuable cars in the galaxy! Worth the rest of the show put together!"

Cooper took on a contemplative look as he calculated all the variables he'd identified before jolting out of it, eyes widened, and said, "Oh no! Guys, this AI might have the same powers as I do, which means..."

Rook quickly ran up to Warlord Gar and hurriedly asked, "Warlord, this "Vault", is it anywhere near where you put OTTO and his goons?"

"I suppose," Gar answered, "but there are three meters of stone between the pens and the vaults."

And that was when all hell broke loose. While Rook and Kevin took one of the tetramand guard's steads to catch up to OTTO, Cooper and Argit took a different route. Snatching the small alien up under his arm, Cooper made a mad dash into the Jury Rig brother's shop, and quickly hot-wired the nearest car before driving off.

"Whoa, that guy looked like he was in a hurry," the eldest brother said.

"To where? A Fabio look-alike contest?" the youngest brother replied.

The two then broken into raucous laughter.

Eventually, they rendezvoused at the main gate, which had been sheared open by the lead car. Of course, Cooper and Argit were no longer in their hot-wired car. " I hot-wired a car and drove it over the wall to the Proto-TRUK," Cooper explained before glaring at Kevin and adding, "And since I'm such a nice guy, I brought your car along with us."

_**-BRoken-** _

Just when they thought they had OTTO in their grasp, he went and used the Proto-TRUK and the four deluxe vehicles from Warlord Gar's collection to create a giant robotic body for himself.

"Bralla-Da!" Rook gasped before growling in fury, "How dare he pervert my pride and joy in this manner!"

Having no other recourse than to run, Cooper, Argit, and Rook hopped into Kevin's car and sped off.

"Bet your happy now that you brought my car along too," Kevin said smugly to Cooper.

"Fasten your lips and pay attention!" Rook cried out. They were rapidly approaching a dune with two sand ripper heads poking out.

Kevin quickly put the car into reverse and drove through the gap between OTTO's legs.

They were brought to a halt when Ben materialized out of thin air.

"Man, you would not believe what I had to do to get Azmuth to teleport me!" Ben said before he took in the sight of the familiar car and it's equally familiar driver. "You!"

Kevin frantically pointed at the giant robot behind them and replied, "Him!"

Ben leveled a glare at Rook, irrationally upset at his boyfriend for associating with Levin, and hissed, "Later!"

"Ben!" Cooper whined urgently.

And with but a jerk of his hand, Ben transformed into Etal and ripped the front bumper off Kevin's car before scarfing it down.

"You couldn't eat the ground?!" Kevin cried, but Etal simply glared at him, causing Kevin to back down. "Right, ask a stupid question."

A few laser blasts from Etal's horn and OTTO was on the ground being held down by sand rippers. Ben quickly hopped into Kevin's car, next to Cooper.

"Hey, Ben," Cooper said almost conversationally.

"Hey, Cooper," Ben replied before saying to the others, "Come on, that's not gonna hold him for long, and it won't distract me enough to wonder..." and at this, Ben adopted a look of fury and yelled, "Why the hell you're in a car with Kevin Levin!"

Rook was the only one brave enough the answer Ben, knowing exactly how this all looked to Ben. "A criminal from his and Argit's past brought us together...and my fist to his nose."

"Oh..." Ben replied before he blushed ashamedly. "Sorry, warp travel and seeing Kevin got me all kinds of stressed."

Rook smiled and said, "You are forgiven. Now, can we come up with a plan to stop Otto?"

"I have a virus that we could infect him with." Cooper suggested. "Not the one from earlier," he amended seeing Kevin's hopeful look, "but it'll bring him down to size and keep him from accessing any of his programming, save his communication sub-routines."

"But how're you gonna infect him with it?" Argit asked.

Cooper looked to Ben and asked, "Think you can transform into Upgrade?"

Ben held out his wrist to Cooper and said, "You do it. Maybe with your powers it'll actually give you what you want; stupid watch!"

Cooper chuckled before activating the selector dial and scanning through the icons before slamming the dial down.

If Ben's galvanic mechamorph form had a mouth, it would've been upturned in a grin as he said, "Of course you realize, you're gonna have to operate this thing for me from here on out!" before enveloping the car. While Cooper, Argit, and Rook were allowed to gracefully step out, Ben gave Kevin the boot, and threw him out. The four then watched as Ben 'Upgraded' Kevin's car into a giant robot.

"Well-done, Ben!" Rook called out.

The battle between Ben and OTTO seemed one-sided, given OTTO's possession of highly upgraded vehicles. But the fact that Ben could sprout extra arms, and one touch from each could infect Otto, allowed him to knock the bot off his block.

But when Ben returned to normal, with all the cars in their separate places, the Proto-TRUK looked like a heap of rubbish.

"Not to worry, future brother-in-law," Cooper reassured Rook, amiably throwing his arm around Rook's neck, "I'll have your truck good as new and purring like a kitten..." Cooper then gave Rook a teasing wink as he added, "Or like Gwen says you do when Ben nibbles on your ear, if what Ben told her was true."

"Beloved," Rook called out in a disappointed tone, "I thought we agreed you would not tell Gwen our private moments."

"Sorry, babe," Ben said as he separated from Kevin's car and returned to normal. He then glanced at Kevin's equally wrecked car and said, with a smirk, "At least his car got the same treatment."

**END VOLUME IX**


	14. Volume X

**Episode 37: The Ultimate Heist**

They were on a road at dusk, chasing after a large truck. They'd confirmed that the driver was a holographic projection, and so there was no other recourse than for Ben gain entry whilst both were still moving at high velocity.

"You do not intend to use an alien form, Beloved?" Rook asked with great surprise.

"That won't be necessary," Ben replied, looking back at Rook with a confident grin. "Few of them would fit inside the cabin of your vehicle, anyway."

And then, with no further ado, Ben leaped right out the passenger-side window, through the driver-side window of the adjacent truck, and wound up upside down in the passenger seat before rolling off. Once back on his feet, he activated the hidden control console and restored manual control. After he informed Rook, however, the hidden door to the cargo section opened up leaving Ben face-to-face with Inspector 13.

Ben escaped through the now shattered windshield and climbed to the roof of the cargo section, followed by Inspector 13's robots. In an attempt to dodge, Ben almost fell off had he not caught the edge of the cargo section's roof.

Upon returning to the Proto-TRUK via slamming against it's windshield, Rook exclaimed, "Beloved! Are you alright?!"

Ben shook it off quickly, holding on for dear life as he commanded, "Focus, Revonnahgander! Keep after that truck!"

Rook looked downtrodden as he replied, "No 'babe'?" Still, he did as he was told, if not half-heartedly.

As Rook moved into position behind Inspector 13's truck, Ben climbed onto the roof of the Proto-TRUK and prepared to make a running leap into the now open cargo container. But before Ben could budge a muscle to do so, Inspector 13 effectively rendered the Proto-TRUK immobile.

"We will need to contact Plumber HQ for a tow truck," Rook said, "but perhaps Fasttrack could catch the weapons master, or XLR8."

"No," Ben answered, as he shook his head in the negative, "I rely on my alien forms too much."

"Really?!" Rook replied, once more surprised, but this time pleasantly so. "You are taking my advice, and training to fight in your human form?"

Ben turned to Rook and said in a placating tone, "You're my partner; your opinion means a lot to me."

"And your fiance," Rook added.

" _You are_?!" Ben squawked before shaking his head and corrected himself by saying, "I mean, of course we are!"

Rook raised a single eyebrow in confusion. How could Ben forget that they were engaged? He all but bragged about it to anyone who would listen every day! "Yes, Beloved," Rook said, "I gave you the silver 'Ring of Engagement' last Christmas and..." Rook stopped and eyed Ben's rather baron fingers. With a hurt frown and a disconcerted tone Rook asked, "Beloved, where is your ring?"

Ben seemed to look uncertain and nervous as he replied, "I left it behind? It...was a hassle to have on my person."

Rook's hurt frown deepened, his voice colored with sorrow as he said in return, "...That has never been an issue before."

Ben frowned in anger and growled, "If you insist on questioning me, then perhaps I will question our being together, Rook Blonko!"

Rook gasped, not understanding why his Heart's Flame was behaving this way. "I...but, Ben..." Words seemed to fail Rook, and all the while his heart crumbled more and more.

Ben sighed and, with a far off look and an insincere voice, said, "Apologies, but I am stressed about not catching the weapons master. I hope you won't take it personally; the job comes before emotional attachments, Rook Blonko."

Rook, still reeling from Ben's outcry, but not wishing to anger Ben further, simply nodded and replied, "Of course, Ben...whatever you say..."

_**-BRoken-** _

In Undertown, they renewed their search for Inspector 13. As Ben pointed out, it was the only developed market for illegal off-world weapons in this hemisphere. As they walked down the street, Ben quickly stopped by a merchant's stall to buy a trinket before running back to Rook. When Rook starred at him in confusion, Ben simply said, "A present for my great aunt Peggy."

"I see," Rook said, not recalling their being a 'great aunt Peggy' listed as one of Ben's relatives in his Plumber file. "Judging by the manifest, Inspector 13's illegal weapons are not very dangerous...except for  _one_."

"The Spread-Spectrum Phase-Disruptor," Ben said.

Rook nodded in the affirmative and replied, "Yes; it can liquify any material, even inside other solids." Rook continued to examine the manifest, and when he looked up next, Ben was catching up to him after stopping at yet another merchant's stall. Rook gave Ben a suspicious frown; Ben  _never_  purchased anything from Undertown.

"My cousin's birthday," Ben said.

"Her birthday is in December," Rook replied, confused and suspicious.

"My  _other_  cousin," Ben insisted. "You don't know her."

Rook narrowed his eyes and said, "According to your file, the only female cousins you have are Gwen, Lucy, and Sunny,  _none of which_ have an upcoming birthday."

Ben looked about nervously before saying, "Perhaps we should seek one of the many petty criminals we know for some information. Someone like..." Ben looked around before spotting, "...Argit!"

Said alien was currently accepting free food from a grateful vendor while a crowd of fans watched on as though it were the most fascinating thing in the world. After he made a wise-crack about all the free food he'd been giving going to his hips, the little children following him like sheep would a shepherd begged him to finish a story he'd been telling them. Before Argit could get any further into it, though, Ben called out to him.

"Ben!" Argit exclaimed happily. "I've been hoping to run into you crazy lovebirds!"

Ben tilted his head in confusion and said, "Neither of us are avians, Argit."

"It is an expression, Beloved," Rook said with a frown; the mystery surrounding Ben today ever increasing. "In fact, it is one  _you_  informed me of. Remember?"

"Er, right. Of course," Ben answered shiftily.

"Riiiight," Argit said, suddenly feeling awkward. "So, what brings you to Undertown this fine day?"

"We are looking for information on a shipment of contraband weapons," Rook explained.

Argit squeaked nervously and said, "Heh, gentlemen, what would I know about such  _despicable_  and  _highly illegal_  activities? Why don't you step into my office?"

Once inside, Argit apologized for his seeming oblivious to all things illegal before offering them sustenance. Ben chose to take him up on the offer. When Solid Plugg entered to take their order's Argit commanded, "Chili fries; make it happen!"

"With cheese," Ben added, "and a  _disgusting_  amount of onions!"

Argit raised an amused eyebrow and asked, "You eat them any other way?"

Ben shuffled in his seat nervously as he answered, "I was...unsure...if you remembered my dietary preferences."

Argit chuckled and shook his head, as if Ben had said something stupid. After collecting himself he went straight to business and asked, "So, weapons shipment, huh?"

"Inspector 13 is storing the weapons in Undertown," Rook explained.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Argit exclaimed. "That ex weapon master? His place is a fortress!"

Rook, in an attempt to appease Argit, replied, "I can contact Plumber command; have them send in some battle tanks."

"I don't think that will be necessary," Ben said, with a knowing smirk, "will it, Argit?"

Argit narrowed his eyes and asked, "What's in it for me?"

Rook frowned and said, as though having to remind Argit of his new status as a respectable contributor to society, "Furthering the cause of justice." Of course, Argit laughed, thinking Rook's answer to be a joke.

"All we want are the illegal weapons," Ben explained, "you can take all the legal merchandise, and sell it."

"Sounds like pay day to me," Argit said with a greedy grin. "I'm in."

Meanwhile, Rook was starring at Ben in horror, as though finding it hard to believe that Ben would allow this.  _His_  Ben would have never allowed this! Something was  _very_  wrong with Ben today.

When Ben noticed Rook starring at him, he smiled and said, "Relax, Rook. I've...already cleared it with Magister Tennyson."

Rook frowned and asked, "Don't you mean 'Grandpa Max'? You have never before referred to him as anything but."

Ben frowned and said testily, "I would appreciate you not being so  _informal_  with my Grandfather, Rook Blonko."

"But...he said it was alright," Rook replied, feeling very uneasy and uncertain.

Ben shrugged and answered, "Well, if you wish to continue embarrassing me like that, then go ahead."

Rook had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from saying anything which might prolong this strange and silly argument, though it hurt him to not ask Ben why he was behaving this way.

When Argit then called for Joyce to "send in the muscle", Solid Plugg barged in, followed by Fistina, and said, "No need. The muscle is here." After he planted his bottom on Argit's desk, he made to hand the bag of chili fries to Ben, but instead had it snatched out of his hand. Everyone then watched in disgusted fascination as Ben proceeded to gorge himself face first into the bag.

Between the Ben's weird behavior and now seeing Ben act like a heathen muroid with his food, Rook was experiencing a fair bit of emotional turmoil. However, it rose another notch when a familiar presence appeared behind his shoulder and said ever so sweetly, "Little Rook!"

"Oh no," Rook whined.

"You sure they're cool, boss?" Solid Plugg asked Argit. Tennyson here? He don't look so cool."

"Excuse me, I will have you know that my Heart's Flame is cooler than a necrofriggian's heart. He is, as he has called me many times, 'The Bomb'," Rook said adamantly, hoping his defense of Ben would snap him out of whatever was affecting him. However, Ben seemed to ignore him, and focused entirely on his chili fries.

"Guys, these fine gentlemen are our partners," Argit coolly explained to Plugg.

Rook frowned despondently when Fistina cooed at him; her hand placed amiably on Rook's shoulder.

"Hellooo, partner," Fistina purred.

"Fistina..." Rook grunted uncomfortably. He then turned to glare at Ben who was only just now pulling his face out of the bag. His face was covered in chili and cheese, and he had a look of mesmerized satisfaction.

"Ben! What is wrong with you?!" Rook declared angrily. "Here I am, being openly flirted with, and you have not said  _anything_  about it!"

Ben turned to look at Fistina, and said, "Hello, Fistina," in such a lazy, uncaring way that it caused Rook to bristle in agitation.

"Now see here! I have had about enough of your bizarre behavior, Beloved," Rook shouted, finally fed up with Ben's attitude.

Ben frowned and replied scathingly, "Well, I have had about enough of your informality when referring to me, and my family, and constantly questioning me, Rook Blonko!"

"I only do so because I am your fiance, and I worry about you," Rook shot back.

"Really? Well I can rectify that," Ben said in a nasty tone of voice. "From this point on, we are no longer together."

Rook looked absolutely murderous; he felt positively betrayed by the one he thought loved him more than anything. "Fine," he hissed, "as of this moment...the Bond's of our Flame are severed.  _Forever_!"

"Hey! Hey!" Argit exclaimed, "Seriously? The two of you have been sickeningly close to each other since you first decided to date!" He looked from Ben to Rook before sighing and placing his hand in his right hand before saying, "Look, why don't you both just take a deep breath and agree to work together on this thing which, may I remind you,  _is why you came to me in the first place_!"

Rook and Ben looked to each other, both frowning, before Ben shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Of course, that's why I'm here."

"Indeed," Rook agreed.

"Good," Argit said, as he gave both the young men a strict, no-nonsense look. "Now, let's get moving. I've got merchandise awaiting!"

_**-BRoken-** _

The fight with the Weapon-Master's robots was a long one, but they soon defeated them all. But then, Ben walked over and smashed the control panel for the door to the warehouse.

"Hey, Genius! How are we supposed to load up the weapons if the door don't work?"

Rook was uneasy; Solid Plugg had a point, and Ben's behavior up to this point had had alarm bells going off in his head all day.

"Don't worry," Ben said haughtily, "I only need  _one_  item, and the rest of you aren't going  _anywhere_."

Rook was shocked when Ben then turned into Wildvine without using the Omnitrix, and then even more shocked when he shot out his tentacle-vines to ensnare them all in his grasp. But what was the most shocking was Wilvine's appearance. This Wildvine was a sickly pale, gray-ish green, instead of the bright and vibrant forest green he usually was. The singular eye upon it's face was a bright red, as was the Omnitrix symbol on it's waist. There was also an overall aura of cruelty emanating from the creature.

And suddenly, it all added up.

"Hey, Benny, what is this?" Argit asked.

Rook grunted, as he tried to squirm his way out of the vines. "That is not Ben," he hissed.

The Wildvine stalked towards them before reverting back into Ben. But this time, his shirt was red where it should have been green, and the '1' and '0' on his shirt were reversed, like a mirror image. Using two fingers, the fake Ben removed a pair of contacts from his eyes, revealing bright red irises, and then removed the brunette wig from his head, revealing his real hair to be snow white.

"Can't put one over on you, Rook," Albedo mocked. "At least, not for more than a few days." He then opened the small crate tugged under his arm and pulled out the small component he'd done all this for.

Rook's face morphed from his standard angry look, to something Argit had only witnessed once. It was a look of absolute animalistic rage and loathing. Rook's sickle-shaped pupil's thinned so much they almost disappeared. And then came the growling.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY BELOVED, YOU SICK, SOCIOPATHIC, DOESN'T KNOW DIAMONDS FROM DOG'S FECAL-MATTER, PIECE OF REFUSE?!"

"Crap," Argit sighed, "he's using contractions." He then looked at Albedo pityingly and said, "It was nice knowing you."

Albedo snorted derisively at Argit before smirking at Rook and saying, "I'm surprised you care. Did you not just sever the engagement between yourself and Tennyson?"

"That was because I thought  _you_  were Ben," Rook hissed. "But you deceived me, therefore my declaration is invalid."

"Are you so certain?" Albedo asked, almost boredly. "There really is no precedence, I suppose, for this." He then smirked and added, "Though I'm curious if your father would be so understanding."

Rook's heart froze as he realized Albedo might have a point. His father had certainly come a long way, but he was still bound by tradition, and there was no precedent for this. If their engagement had been truly annulled, Revonnahgander tradition dictated that the two parties could never attempt to engage each other ever again.

He would have to beseech his father to consider all the variables surrounding this. Maybe there was a chance...

"It matters little, really. I have what I came for," Albedo said as he installed the component into his Omnitrix. "This final insult to Tennyson will simply serve as cheese on the chili fries. Honestly, you were too easy to fool. You were so starstruck by you 'Heart's Flame'; you wanted so badly to believe that the  _great Ben Tennyson_  would take your advise and better himself."

"He's got a point," Argit said. "Even I know it ain't cool to try to change your partner."

Rook glared harshly at Argit and hissed, "Be silent." He then sent his glare to Albedo and said, "How dare you? You have  _no_  idea what has gone on between myself and Ben during the last year. And he  _has_  changed, but he's still the same, loud, loose-lipped, funny, sweet, sometimes perverted, golden-hearted boy he has always been." Rook then smiled confidently as he said, "And I don't love him  _in spite_  of his flaws, I love him  _because_  of them."

"Touching," Inspector 13 said as he entered the warehouse. "Heart-felt sentiments are pointless when facing certain death." The Weapon Master then eyed Albedo and said, "You seek a polymorphic crystal to drive a phase disruptor." Inspector 13 then held up the very item as he spoke of it. "So. Shall we begin?"

_**-BRoken-** _

Thankfully, the real Ben had come to their rescue and, with the help of Argit (a surprise to them all, brought Albedo down. As Ben rode with Rook back to Plumber HQ, he looked over to Rook and saw his boyfriend was still tense and worried.

"Something eating at you, babe?" Ben asked. "You didn't...kiss him...did you?"

Rook snorted in amusement and smiled lightly as he answered, "Nothing of the sort, Beloved. However," at this he became downtrodden once more, "I may have risked our eventual marriage just the same."

Ben went wide eyed and asked, fear coloring his voice, "How?"

Rook sighed in defeat and replied, "Albedo tricked me into breaking off my engagement with you, meaning that I had no intention of marrying you  _ever_. Technically, I was still under the assumption that he was you, but there is no precedence for this in Revonnahgander tradition." Upon seeing the affect his words were having on Ben, Rook quickly grabbed his boyfriend's hand and said, "I promise you, I will do everything in my power to fix this; I will go to our Elders. If I must, I will truly and utterly turn my back on Revonnahgander tradition."

Ben sniffled a bit, not realizing that their were tear tracks on his face. "I know you will," he said with a sad smile.

* * *

**Episode 38: A Fistful Of Brains**

The next day, Rook and Ben received word from Argit that Albedo had once again been sighted in Undertown. Argit supplied them with the locations he'd been spotted in, and Rook and concluded an area to set up in and watch: a stake-out.

While they waited, Rook spoke to Ben about the conversation his father and him had had late last night via two-way subspace communicator. Rook Da agreed that their case was unusual; given time and the right arguments, the Elders of Revonnah could be swayed to maintain that Rooks disavowal of their bond was void.

"I'm glad," Ben said with a smile, as he leaned his head on Rook's strong shoulder. "I just want Albedo back in his cell, and all of this to be just a nightmare I can wake up from."

"And I will be the one who offers you the proverbial pinch to wake you up," Rook agreed, placing a gentle kiss on Ben's forehead as he did.

Suddenly, Ben jerked upright as he saw a familiar red and black shirt accompanying white hair run down the alley across from them. "There he is!" Ben exclaimed as he leapt out of the Proto-TRUK and gave chase, Rook hot on his heals. They followed Albedo out into a street, crashing through several vendor's stalls before going into yet another alley.

"I know he's down here somewhere!" Ben declared vehemently; Rook's eyes widened when Ben rushed headlong into the dark alley.

"Beloved, wait!" Rook cried out as he prepped his Proto-Tool and charged after his Heart's Flame.

The two soon stopped, hearing a disgusting noise from one side alley. However, the light from Rook's Proto-Tool revealed it to be nothing more than an alien vagrant gnawing on a piece of discarded meat.

" _Blech_!" Rook grimaced in nausea, turning his concerned gaze onto Ben as he hurried down the alleyway further. "Ben, please take care, I don't wish to lose you again!"

"You won't, Rook," Ben shouted over his shoulder, patting his chest as he ran. "You're right here with me."

Rook sighed in bemused exasperation, bowing his head and shaking it as he tried to keep up. "I appreciate the sentiment, Beloved. But I'd rather have you physically beside me!"

Rook's calls to Ben fell on deaf ears as he turned into a storage room.

"Ben, wait!" Rook called out. But it was too late.

With an electric  _snap-hiss_ , a force field activated, cutting Rook off from Ben who was trapped in the warehouse with Albedo.

"BEN!" Rook cried as he banged his fists against the force field.

"ROOK!" Ben cried as he did the same.

Soon, the warehouse crumbled, revealing a small ship with Ben trapped inside. Rook watched in horror as it blasted away, Ben's screams mixing with the screaming whine of the ship's thrusters accelerating.

_**-BRoken-** _

Back at Plumbers HQ, Rook was pacing up and down the command center barking out orders to frightened privates who scurried about.

"PUT OUT A GENERAL SCAN FOR MY BELOVED! IF A SINGLE PLUMBER SO MUCH AS SEES A PAIR OF GREEN EYES, I DEMAND TO BE NOTIFIED! I WILL DECREE WAR ON KHYBER AND HIS ENTIRE RACE UNLESS BEN IS RETURNED TO ME, SAFE AND SOUND, IN THE NEXT HOUR!" he yelled out.

Max Tennyson had entered the command post right in the middle of all this commotion. He felt for the young man; losing your loved one to your occupation was always a risk when it came to law enforcement. Max walked up behind Rook and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as he said, "Easy there, son! We'll find Ben, I promise! Right now the best thing you can do is to take a deep breath and calm yourself. Being a hot-head is likely to get Ben killed."

"This week has gone from bad to worse," Rook growled, still pacing. "My fiance was abducted and switched without my knowing, our engagement might be nulled because I let my emotions get the better of me, and to make matters worse...I may have to forsake my  _entire_  family for Ben."

Were it anyone else, Max would've slapped Rook upside the head for that last one. But he knew all too well the cultural priorities Revonnahganders placed on family and honor; it very much resembled many of the Asian cultures on Earth.

"We're out of smoothies in the cafeteria," a female human plumber agent whispered to another in terror.

"AND NOW THERE ARE NO SMOOTHIES TO COMFORT MY HEART'S FLAME WHEN HE'S RESCUED!" Rook cried out after his keen sense of hearing caught the young woman's whisper. He turned to her and screamed, "WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE? GO IMMEDIATELY TO A MR. SMOOTHIE AND GET ONE FOR MY BEN!"

The female agent squeaked and ran.

Max frowned and decided to do some barking of his own. "Now that's enough, son! Now you will calm yourself  _right this instant_  and carry yourself like a proper Plumber or I'll have you confined to your quarters!"

Rook flinched at Max's tone and eased off. "I am sorry, Grandpa Max. I apologize."

"Don't worry son. We'll get him back," Max reassured Rook.

At that moment, data came in from a Plumbers station on another planet; their sensors had picked up a trace of Ben's DNA. Rook was impressed by the speed the kidnappers ship would have to travel at to reach that star system, but grinned knowingly when he revealed his own ship wouldn't take much longer to get there.

And so, the chase was on!

_**-BRoken-** _

"That's Ben's DNA signature?!" Max exclaimed incredulously. They were currently on Gleesa 667-C, the planet Magister Patelliday had referred them to, going after their second DNA location.

Rook picked up the strand of hair the scanners had detected, holding it up to glare at like it was his worst enemy. And it was, for misleading him and Magister Tennyson.

"A hair...," Rook growled.

"A  _white_  hair," Max corrected. "That's not Ben's...it's Albedo's."

"Bahh!" Rook threw down the hair and shot it in anger, hissing like a snake in doing so.

"Easy, son. I know this wild goose chase is frustrating you, but..."

"It is not that!" Rook replied, his face taking on a sort of feral look. "My  _Ma'jun_  warned me about this. Revonnahganders usually pair up  _only_  with each other as they  _always_  stay on the same planet." He shuddered and looked nauseous.

"Why does it matter?" Max asked in a worried tone.

"Once we have found our Heart's Flame, it is imperative we keep a reasonable distance," Rook explained, "or we come back after a week or so apart. It can be...strenuous on my kind to be apart from our Heart's Flame."

"How strenous? Max asked, already feeling fearful.

"It is not...lethal," Rook worriedly replied. "But my  _Maj'un_  told me that if Ben and I were to be apart, or he was to be in extreme danger, I would revert to my... _feral_   _side_."

Max's eyes widened in alarm, not much was known about Rook's people, given they were almost as less known as Terrans to other aliens. But this was distressing news.

"If I am apart from Ben for too long, I will eventually go mad until reunited...possibly attacking and  _poisoning_  anything I bite," Rook said, anxiety and fear coloring his voice.

Max frowned, his resolve now stronger than ever. He would not allow Rook to lose himself to his feral side; he  _would_  find Ben.

Back aboard the Proto-TRUK, they were stunned and horrified to discover that 3,700 Plumbers had detected traces of Ben's DNA, scattered about the quadrant. There was no possible way to search them all in time. Thankfully, genius struck Max, and he ordered the computer to scan for residual traces of tachyon engine emissions.

This chase wasn't over yet.

_**-BRoken-** _

The Proto-TRUK came out of FTL at the coordinates the computer designated, but there was nothing there; just empty space. Or so they thought.

"Get to the point, Albedo," Max growled.

"If you insist  _grandpa_ ," Albedo replied mockingly. "I am not without compassion. Your suffering won't last nearly as long as you allowed mine to!" And then he was gone, and they were on a direct course for a fleet of attack drones!

Rook wasn't able to dodge their initial kamikaze trajectory, but the damage was minimal. He then set them on a zigzag course to keep them from getting a bead on his ship. Eventually, they saw a space-station de-cloak. Their course and speed were such that Rook just barely kept from ramming it, though he did leave a sizable gash in its hull. When Max told Rook that the energy field around the station was weakened by the gash, Rook was only too happy to oblige Max's suggestion of causing more damage. At the back of his mind, he could feel his feral side emerging. If he didn't get to Ben soon, the beast would emerge and anyone within close proximity would die.

And so, he lead the drones on a merry chase around the station, allowing their weapons to do the work for him. While in a nose dive towards the dorsal hull, he quickly maneuvered so a pair of rockets could create a rupture only big enough to allow the bulk of the Proto-TRUK through; the wings, however, would not make it. And so, Max took control and sent in through anyway.

_**-BRoken-** _

While Rook and Max were fighting for survival, Ben had been confronting Albedo.

"What is it with you anyway, Albedo!?" Ben asked, flabbergasted by the galvan's continued attacks. "You got what you wanted: your a Galvan again! So go away and live out your  _little Galvan life_ somewhere away from me and  _my_  Blonko!"

Albedo fixed Ben with a contemptuous look of disgust and hatred and spat, "And what? I'm supposed to forget the imprisonment, the humiliation, the...brrrr..." he shuddered in disgust, "chilli-fries? Or worse yet: your Fiancee  _pawing_  me like a cat in heat?"

"Yes!" Ben shouted incredulously. "Especially that last part! I mean, Rook is  _my_  'Beloved';  _my_  'Heart's Flame.' And your just a  _sad_ , little, pathetic, stuck-up, miser with nobody to care for him."

"Ha! That, Benjamin, is where you are wrong," Albedo retorted, smirking smugly at Ben as he did. "For you see, I've recently found we do share  _one_  common interest."

Ben blinked in confusion before realizing what Albedo meant. With a tone of revulsion he exclaimed, "YOU AND THE HUNTER!?"

"We found we had a common goal...YOUR DEATH!"

Ben sweated in shocked, disbelief. "Glad to have brought you two together..." And then their fight continued. It was interrupted, however, by the Proto-TRUK crashing through the roof. A dorsal panel opened, and a bruised and scratched Max was flung out with a grunt. Ben ran over to Max who said, "Ben...you've got to...calm him. Revonnahgander...rage..."

"Huh?" Ben said before looking up and seeing a nightmare of his boyfriend creeping out. His hair had grown out around his head almost like a lions mane, and wicked claws had shredded though his gloves. Fangs were protruding from his mouth, and dripping a milky substance that caused the ground to smoke and hiss when it dripped.

"Rook?!" Ben exclaimed.

Albedo/Ultimate-Humongosaur was even more shocked than Ben to see Rook Blonk in such a state, especially when Rook lunged at him, claws aimed straight for the Vaxasaurian's chest. He grunted in pain when he felt the razor sharp talons pierce his natural armor, leaving deep grooves that oozed green blood.

"By the Protheans!" Albedo exclaimed as he swung his arm at Rook, pinning him to the wall with his left hand. "Now I've got you, you putrid—RAAAGH!" Albedo roared in agony when Rook clamped his teeth down into Albedo's scaly arm, his venom burning deep into his flesh. Albedo pulled back, which allowed Rook to lunge at his chest again, kicking the Vaxasaurian onto his back. Rook then leaped up to slash at his face, the transformed Galvan helpless to stop him.

"Rook, what are you...?!" Ben called out in alarm, but quickly rushed forward when Albedo timed out into his Galvan form. He risked a lot with Rook in this state, but he wrapped his arms around Rook, holding the feral's arms down and pulling him away from the battered Galvan.

"Rook, stop! Stop it now!" Ben screamed at his alien boyfriend, terrified beyond belief.

Rook turned with an angry hiss, grabbing Ben by his arms and pinning him to the wall. Mouth open and fangs bare, he was ready to plunge them into Ben's flesh, but a gleam of light caught his eyes. It was the silver of Ben's engagement ring!

His eyes fixated on it, like a cobra on a snake charmer's flute. His eyes soon went back to their normal gold color, and his pupils returned to their normal size. His hair remained wild, and long, but his claws retracted back into his fingers and his fangs retracted back to their normal size; the latter no longer oozing the acidic venom.

Rook blinked several times; unsure of what was going on, or where he was...but he glanced down into Ben's worried emerald eyes and it slowly came back to him.

"Be-Ben?" he asked shakily, his eyes blinking rapidly as his expression seemed to become clearer and less confused. "Beloved!?" He then took stock of the claw marks on Ben's arm, and the fact that his shirt was torn. "What happened to you?!" Then he realized that he had Ben pinned against a wall. "Oh no...BrallaDa... _I did this_!"

He made to quickly retreat from Ben, disgusted with himself and certain that Ben was too. However, Ben quickly wrapped his arms around Rook's neck and pulled himself into Rook as tightly as he could, tears of joy flowing freely from his eyes. "I thought I lost you!" Ben whimpered. "I was so scared for you; I didn't know what was going on!"

Rook lifted Ben's head up gently and looked deeply into those gorgeous green eyes with remorse and replied, "I am sorry, Beloved. I should have come sooner. I should have told you about... _this_... About what would become of me if I lost you."

"It doesn't matter," Ben said, "I'm just glad that your here, that you rescued me!" Ben's eyes then widened and he cried, "Grandpa!"

The two ran over to Max Tennyson, though Rook kept his distance. Ben knelt down next to Max and checked his pulse. He was alive, but weak; Rook had done a number on him. "We have to get him medical attention!"

"I'll get the first aid," Rook replied as he ran towards the Proto-TRUK. Halfway, though, he stopped and looked to Albedo he was lying in a small pool a his own Galvan blood. Rook narrowed his eyes and stalked towards him. As he stood over Albedo, Rook hissed, "I do not regret what I did to you. Let it be a lesson of what may become of any who harm my Beloved Ben."

Albedo gurgled out a wet laugh and said, "Don't be too proud of yourself...I still win...I...still..." Between the blood loss and the venom, it was too much for the Galvan's body. He passed away content in the fact that his rival would soon join him in the afterlife!

Before Rook could resume his search for the Proto-TRUK's med-kit, he and Ben both paused as they heard the whirring of a nearby lift. A floor panel lifted to reveal Khyber with two Panuncian's at his side, rising up.

"The three of you will surrender now," Khyber threatened as he advanced toward the trio. "Before anyone gets..." He froze as he saw the lifeless body of Albedo lying in a pool of blood. His eyes narrowed and his upper lip curled. Khyber roared in fury and screamed, "YOU DARE LAY A HAND UPON MY LOVER?! I WILL RENDER THE FLESH FROM YOUR BONES!" Khyber then took a shuddering breath and hissed out, "But first, I'll render  _his_!"

And with the remote in his hand, Khyber opened the capsule behind him to reveal the restrained and broken body of...

"Azmuth!"

* * *

**Episode 39: For A Few Brains More**

Azmuth lifted his head up and evaluated the scene before him. His gaze lingered on Albedo's lifeless body, and he sighed. "I knew that one day Albedo would meet a gruesome end if he stayed the self-destructive course he was on. I assume he intended to use this device to drain me of my intellect and add it to his?"

Khyber glared at Albedo and hissed, "Whatever his intention, it is irrelevant now.  _I_ intend to strip the flesh from your bone, centimeter by glorious centimeter."

"Not gonna happen, Khyber!" Ben exclaimed, readying his Omnitrix before glancing at his grandpa.

Max grunted and said, "I'll be fine. Get Azmuth."

Ben nodded and replied, "Right."

Before Ben could activate the Omnitrix, Khyber whistled to his Panucian's, who then leapt towards Rook, Ben, and Max, splitting into three mid-air. Each one pinned the three to the floor.

Khyber pulled out his knife and stalked over to Azmuth. "So, where should we start?"

Ben thought quickly and shouted out to Khyber, "Yeah! Might as well start with him," Ben taunted. "I mean, it's not like  _he's_  the one who tore your boyfriend into pieces and let him drown in his own blood, because that was me!"

"Ben, what are you saying?!" Max yelled in fear, struggling against the sharp claws of the Panucian.

"That's not true!" Rook hissed out. "It's..."

"Don't try to defend me, Rook," Ben said, cutting Rook off. "It's true, and I'm glad!"

Khyber was shaking in rage as he listened to Ben's words, and turned on the spot to glare at Ben, leaving Azmuth all but forgotten.

Ben smirked in triumph and added,"After all, Albedo was nothing but a pain in the ass. Though I guess you were to him too. Oops! I'm being  _so_  insensitive! Did you even get  _chance_  to bang his ass? Well, I'm sure he's still good for a treat for your pets."

"RAAAGH!" Khyber snarled as he leapt over, kicking the Panucian on Ben aside, unaware that the others were reabsorbed into that one, thus freeing Rook and Max. Pulling Ben up by the collar of his shirt, Khyber snarled, "I'm going to slice you up like the meat you are, whore! And I'm gonna make your Revonnahgander lover watch as I violate your body... _over_  and  _over_  again! Ack!"

Khyber yelled out in surprise as Rook socked him hard on the cheek, giving Ben an opening to kick him in the knee, causing it to bend backwards. As Khyber went down, Rook pulled Ben out if the hunter's grasp, causing Ben's shirt to get shredded.

However, as an act of defiance, Khyber pushed himself up by one arm and threw his knife towards Azmuth. He was in pain, though, and his vision was clouded. So instead of hitting Azmuth, it hit the machine. Something must have short-circuited, because the machine hummed to life.

"Azmuth!" Ben cried out before quickly dialing up Upgrade and morphing over and into the machine, ceasing the machine's progress...but it was too late. A green glowing orb soon floated out of the Cerebral-Cortex.

Azmuth's body then fell limply from his harness, Upgrade's arm formed out to catch him and removed itself from the machine.

"Azmuth? AZMUTH!" Upgrade shouted in horrified alarm.

"Would you keep it down," the voice of Azmuth snapped, not from his prone bodies mouth, but from the glowing orb. "I'm a disembodied mind, not deaf!"

"Naaaargh! Insufferable tramp!" Khyber hissed out, before suddenly getting his own Panucian swung into him by an angry Rook, who swung the beast around by it's tail, knocking out the other ones in the process.

Quickly, Ben turned into XLR8 and, grabbing Azmuth's body and mind, sped off with Rook and Max in tow. They ran down a corridor for several meters before reaching a fork; the metallic corridor of the station becoming the solid rock of the asteroid it was built into. They chose a tunnel and kept running. A few meters down, they found a storage closet. Upon opening it, they found a number of supplies, including a med-kit. Rook got to work on Max while Ben examined Azmuth's body and mind.

As Rook worked, he gave Ben a sidelong glance and said, "Beloved, you should not have pushed Khyber in such a way. It was foolish, and could have gotten you killed!"

"I know, Rook. But I needed to distract him, and I couldn't exactly throw you under the bus!" Ben replied. "Besides, this way Azmuth gets to keep his mind  _and_  his skin."

Rook shook his head and sighed. "Still, it was a risky gambit. You could not have known it would lead to a favorable outcome."

"Unh, what's done is done," Max groaned. "Right now, we need to focus on how to get off this station."

"It would be unwise to return to the ProtoTRUK. Khyber and his  _pets_  will still be there, most likely," Rook said. With a saddened sigh he added, "Plus, I fear my ship will not fly again."

"I can change back into Upgrade and rebuild it...temporarily," Ben suggested.

"That still leaves Khyber and the Panucians," Rook pointed out.

Ben looked around the storage closet. Maybe he could turn into Jury Rigg and build something to distract Khyber.

A few minutes, and a successful transformation into Jury Rigg, later, the three snuck back to the Proto-TRUK's location, the distraction device tucked under Rook's arm, and Azmuth's body and mind in Max's shirt pocket. Upon seeing the Proto-TRUK, Ben morphed into Upgrade once more and oozed over to, and onto, the trashed vehicle. Rook watched in amazement as his Beloved and his baby became one.

"All set," Upgrade said.

"A pity you will not be using it," a cold voice called from the doorway.

The group turned to see Khyber standing with his Panucians. "Leaving so soon? I won't hear of it," Khyber said in mock surprise. "After all, you've not fully gotten a chance to play with my pets."

"I had something else for you to play with," Upgrade replied. "Now, Rook!"

Rook pressed the only button on the whole device. Upon pressing it, a voice that sounded oddly like him declared, "SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED! I REPEAT: SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED! THIS SEQUENCE MAY NOT BE ABORTED!"

"WHAT!?" Howled Khyber in outrage.

"THIS WAS YOUR DISTRACTION?!" Rook yelled in disbelief.

"Uh, hello! Bomb's about to go off! All aboard the Ben 10-Mobile!" Upgrade exclaimed, as he opened the rear hatch.

Rook tossed the bomb to Khyber before he and Max high-tailed it for the Upgrade-ed Proto-TRUK. Once they were secured, Upgrade launched a volley of missiles into the nearby bulk-head. The resulting breach was plenty wide to let them pass, so Upgrade went full-throttle and zoomed out.

"Okay, I'm gonna hit the FTL as soon as we clear the asteroid field. Should take about three minutes," Upgrade said.

"You remember how to run the calculations on the navicomputer?" Rook asked surprised.

Upgrade huffed and said, "Babe, I remember  _everything_  you taught me about flying the Proto-TRUK! I usually had to imagine you in nothing but a speedo to do so, but it worked!"

"Ahem..."Grandpa Max cleared his throat.

"Oh, like you never pictured Xylene in a skimpy outfit!" Upgrade snapped back defensively.

"I am...pleased to hear that, Beloved," Rook stammered in slight embarrassment. "Though I must admit, it will give me pause the next time I try to teach you something."

"Any time, Mr. Teacher," Upgrade said, his optical circuit winking impishly at Rook, "anytime."

At that moment, the bomb Jury Rigg had built went off. As the expanding fireball neared them, the Upgrade-TRUK's FTL kicked in, and a moment later they were orbiting Earth.

Making sure that doing so would not lead to a hull breach first, Upgrade disengaged from the Proto-TRUK before deactivating the Omnitrix. Ben then plopped down on aft-starboard bench next to where Max had deposited Azmuth's body and mind and breathed out a sigh of relief. "This day has been pure hell," he said.

"It has not been a walk in the outdoor recreational facility for me either," Rook agreed.

Ben chuckled and said, "I think you mean 'walk in the park'." He then let out a cry as Rook moved from the pilot's seat over to the bench, and arranged himself so that he was sitting on the bench and Ben was in his lap. He then proceeded to nuzzle against Ben's neck.

Ben simply smiled and curled himself into a tight ball, allowing Rook to wrap his arms around Ben's whole body.

"How are you feeling, Rook?" Max asked, still worried about the young Revonnahgander's feral side.

"Much better, now that my Heart's Flame is back with me," Rook answered.

"If you're all quite done being sentimental," Azmuth's mind-orb grumbled, "I would very much like to be returned to my body."

Max quickly called up the Plumber's database to search for Cerebral Vortex's on Earth. Thankfully, there were two. He quickly made a call to Plumber's HQ to prep their C.V. for use, and to send a rescue crew to haul the ship in.

"Aw, do we have to, Grandpa? I kinda like this Azmuth better," Ben whined, watching in amusement as Azmuth's body climbed up to Rook's shoulder before planting a sloppy kiss on his cheek. "I kinda like this Azmuth _way_  more."

"I beg your pardon?!" Azmuth's mind screeched. "Can my body build a particle accelerator from scratch? Can it build a Null Void generator in ten minutes? I don't think so!"

Ben rolled his eyes and replied, "Sure, you can do all that cool stuff, but I can actually sti down at Mr. Smoothie with this guy and have fun!"

Rook raised a single brow and huffed, "You do that with me quite frequently."

"True, but I wouldn't imagine him pouring blueberry smoothie on my chest and licking it off," Ben retorted with another impish wink.

"Ooh!" Azmuth's body crowed. "Ben and Blonko sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Max just shook his head and said, "Ben, I appreciate it that you can be so comfortable and open around me, but sometimes you're a little  _too_  open."

The whole ship suddenly lurched, sending Ben and Rook to the floor at the force of the sudden tremor.

"We've been hit!" Azmuth's body wailed in mock fear, chortling. "Get the life-vests out!"

"What was that?!" Ben asked as he and Rook got to their feet.

"Khyber!" Max growled out as he got out of the drivers seat to allow Rook to pilot the Proto-TRUK.

"Doesn't that freak give up?" Ben griped in annoyance.

"It's the only way one would expect an Alpha-Male to react to his lover being killed, Ben," Rook explained, reaching out to tightly grip Ben's hand in his, giving his Heart's Flame a soft look of love-filled worry. "I know that feeling of relentlessness."

Ben smiled at the tender gesture and planted a quick kiss on Rook's forehead before turning the dial on the Omnitrix.

"Escape from crazy hunter, now. Loving, tender cuddles, later," Ben said as he slammed the dial down on his watch.

"Cannonbolt?!" Ben declared at his transformation. "He can't even breathe in space!"

"Beloved, hearing that does not quell my protective feral side," Rook growled out, griping the steering wheel tightly to push back the desire to protect his fiance.

"Hurry up and knock them off course," Max told his grandson, worry and slight fear of Rook losing it coloring his face.

Cannonbolt moved to the aft section, activated the O2 force-field, took a deep breath, and opened the rear hatch. He lept out, floated for a second, and then curled up and began to spin. The motion was enough to offer him movement in zero-g, and he rocketed towards Khyber's ship. Cannonbolt made for another pass, but the element of surprise was gone, and Khyber was focusing his ship's turrets on him. True, his shell would hold out at first, but it would sting. And eventually, even Cannonbolt's shell would crack. Luckily, the Proto-TRUK came in and laid out a volley against the cannons, rendering them useless. Cannonbolt was running out of air, so he gave himself a quick spin and sent himself on a trajectory towards the opened rear hatch of the Proto-TRUK.

Once inside, the Omnitrix timed out, and Ben let out his breath. "Okay. That wasn't such a good idea. Forgot how cold it was out there, too!" When he disengaged the O2 force-field, something shorted and a chain-reaction occurred. With a shudder and a cough, the Proto-TRUK's engines went off-line.

"Babe, what happened?" Ben asked.

"Cascade system failure. We are dead in the water," Rook answered.

"More than that," Ben replied, "we're a sitting duck!"

Max immediately got on the subspace transmitter to send out an SOS. And at that same time, Khyber decided to set a collision course for the Proto-TRUK.

"Tick-tock, Rook!" Ben said, hoping his fiance had a plan.

"What does that mean?" Rook asked.

"You know, it's the sound a clock makes!"

"I have never heard a clock make that sound."

To add insult to injury, whatever momentum they'd had before the engines burnt out had been just enough to push them into Earth's gravity well. They were just beginning to enter Earth's atmosphere when the RB3 appeared.

"Sister Gwen! Cooper!" Rook declared in joy as the two appeared on the monitor.

"Cooper, your making that ship was the best idea you've ever had!" Ben hooted in relief. "I'd kiss you if I didn't know Rook would claw you to shreds and Gwen would slap us both silly!"

"Good call," Cooper chuckled as Gwen nudged him playfully. "Actually, we were in the neighborhood."

"Astronomy paper," Gwen said in explanation. "It's hard to book time on the school's telescope."

"Told ya I'd take you to the stars someday, Honey," Cooper said with a playful smile.

"Of course you did, Darling," Gwen retorted in kind.

"I am, of course, as much a fan of witty banter between two lovers as much as the next Revonnahgander," Rook cut in, "however, we are falling at an alarming rate towards Earth and burning up!"

"Right, sorry," Gwen said before she clapped her hands together, summoning her Anodite powers. "Cooper, the ship?"

"On it," Cooper nodded his head as he pressed a button. Khyber's ship was still behind them, but upon pressing the button, a huge energy wall shot out of an aft cannon knocking the ship clear over several feet. It spun in tight, quick circles before crashing into the water.

At the same time, Gwen sent out a thick tendril of mana and wrapped it around the Proto-TRUK until it formed a sphere around the ship. Giving it a tug, she altered the Proto-TRUK's speed and trajectory so they wouldn't burn up. She held on as long as she could before releasing the ship and letting it glide down onto a naval loading bay.

Gwen, Cooper, and Zed (Khyber's former pet) quickly rushed to the Proto-TRUK's wreckage as Gravatack lept out: Rook and Max hovering on his left and right. They were alarmed, however, to see Khyber's ship float over to the dock. When Khyber and his Panucian stepped out, they were all horrified to see Albedo's corpse strapped to his chest.

"Oh, gross!" Gravatack choked in disgust.

"Revolted by  _your_  handiwork, wretch?" Khyber sneered in derision.

"Ben!" Gwen gasped in shock. "You killed Albedo?!"

"No!" Ben retorted in defense.

"Why not?" Cooper asked. "I figured you'd want him dead after he tried macking on your man."

" 'Macking on my man?' " Ben muttered to himself in disbelief.

"Ben was merely taking the fall for me, Khyber," Rook shouted, standing to his feet and facing him angrily. "Your lover's death was the result of his folly in keeping a Revonnahgander from his Heart's Flame!" Rook informed the ignorant hunter.

"Lover?!" Cooper and Gwen shouted at the same time, even Zed barked in disbelief.

"So, yes. I reverted to my feral form and attacked him when I saw him trying to rob my precious fiance of his life," Rook snarled, pointing a finger at Khyber with one eye shut in concentration. "And you'll suffer the same fate if you don't back off!"

"Then, I will take  _immense_  pleasure in skinning your hide before gutting your lover like the wretched swine he is!" Khyber yelled.

"Gwen, take care of Grandpa," Ben shouted to his Cousin. "He's still hurt."

"Daddy?" Azmuth questioned in his minor confusion.

"I'll...keep an eye on Azmuth." Ben started to head toward the Galvan, but was thrown off his feet when an energy grenade was thrown at him by Khyber. Rook leapt to shove his boyfriend to the side, causing the two to go flying, as Kyber and his Panucian leaped onto the deck, large knife in hand.

"Oh boy," Cooper breathed in sharply, before using his powers to rip apart Rook's car, forming electrifying gauntlets. He slapped them together, giving Khyber a dark smirk. "Let's dance."

Khyber flipped his knife around into an inverted grip before the two began moving in a circle, facing off against each other. After a few steps, Khyber lunged to take a swipe, but Cooper dodged, grabbed Khyber by the wrist, and poured several volts of electrical energy into the hunter's body. Cooper than began punching him repeatedly in the torso, each one having the effect of getting struck by a bolt of lightening. Khyber eventually dropped, his heart and brain both unable to take the repeated jolts of electricity.

"Oh God..." Cooper gaped in shock. "I...I didn't check the charge first...but you were trying to kill us!"

Cooper looked down sadly at the prone figure of Khyber and Albedo . As he leaned down to pick up the Galvan corpse, he heard his girlfriend call out to him.

"Cooper!" Gwen called out in warning.

Cooper turned just in time to catch a brief glimpse of Gwen healing Max, when the Panucian pounced onto him. Starring down at Cooper, the Panucian bared it's teeth and growled. Cooper struggled to move his hands, but the creature was clever enough to slash his arms. Not hitting his flesh, but slicing the power cables out of his gauntlets.

"Cooper!" Gwen attempted to run over, but the Panucian had split into three forms. Ben was soon seen being chased by Crabdozer, as Terroranchula lunged at Gwen, Rook, and Grandpa Max. She erected a force-field, but the creature began to charge it with it's red energy, causing some strain.

~Woof! Woof!~

The Panucian looked up as Zed leaped through the air and smacked into the alien cat. The two rolled onto the ground, barking, growling, hissing, and spitting.

"Zed!" Cooper yelled out in alarm.

~Grrrrr~ Zed snapped at the Panucian, angry over it attacking it's friend and the only one to ever care for her in a while. Zed got her jaw around the feline's leg, and bit down hard on it several times.

~Yipe~

The Panucian ran off and split into three more copies, that jumped onto some crates and a truck, hissing with it's back arched as Zed barked at it.

"Good girl!" Cooper called out happily.

Gwen managed to regain enough focus to throw Crabdozer and Terroranchula over to where the three Panucian copies were, and forced them all to recombine. She then formed a cage around the Single Panucian using nearby metal construction bars. "Okay, I think it's trapped...for now. It can't shape-shift without Khyber whistling, right?"

"Right," Ben nodded. "Speaking of which...where?" He then looked to see Cooper walking back over to Khyber's still body. Ben followed him and asked in an uncertain tone, "Is he...dead?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry Ben, I didn't mean to kill him! Just knock him out, you know," Cooper lamented. "I should have checked how much charge it would deliver, but I didn't have time. I was in the moment, you know?"

As Rook, Gwen, and Max walked over, Rook said with a frown, "I for one am not sorry for his passing. Both he and Albedo deserved this."

All eyes swung to Rook as Ben screeched, "How could you say that?! We're heroes and they're villains. What separates us is our compassion...we don't kill, no matter who you are or what you've done!"

Rook's eyes widened in surprise. Defending himself he said, "Beloved! Khyber has been hounding you since we first met, and Albedo for even longer! There are now two less criminals in the universe to harm you!"

"Rook, you're making me sound weak," Ben said, disbelief coloring his tone, "like I'm something to be protected! Yeah, I have a knack for walking right into traps, and I could certainly use a rescue effort when it happens, but I'm not some possession!"

"I will handle you with the care you deserve and, if need be, stuff you into my closet to keep you safe!" Rook shouted back, then paused as he got stared at. "That...came out wrong."

"Yeah, the possession part threw me off too," Cooper admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

Max turned to Ben and said, "Give him a break, Ben. He just recovered from reverting to a primal/feral self and being relentlessly attacked by two psychopathic villains. He's bound to be a little tense."

"I am not tense," Rook growled.

"Your nails are growing," Gwen pointed out worriedly, as Zed walked up to Cooper, who proceeded to pet her. When Zed eyed Rook, she immediately moved into a defensive stance in front of Cooper and growled.

"DO NOT GROWL AT ME, MONGREL!" Rook howled at the Anubian, who proceeded to bark at Rook. Cooper quickly grabbed a hold of her and pointed a warning finger at Rook.

"Hey! Settle down, or your gonna wish I hadn't taken out Khyber!" Cooper warned Rook.

Rook's glare shifted to Cooper, and his body tensed up even more; it looked as though he might implode. Suddenly, Rook grasped at his head in pain and let out a groan before slumping over, unconscious.

"Rook!" Ben cried out as he hurried to Rook's side. Gwen quickly moved to Rook's other side and placed a glowing hand over his forehead.

"Is he okay?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, he's just exhausted. That feral side took a lot out of him. His electrolytes could use some boosting. He needs to rest now, and drink something with high levels of electrolytes," Gwen informed her cousin.

"What about Azmuth?" Max asked, going over to pull the mind-sphere out of Ben's pocket. "We still need to get him over to Plumber HQ to reinsert his mind into his body."

"We can all fit into the RB3," Cooper said. "There's a med bench in the aft; we can use it to carry Khyber and Albedo...give them both a proper burial."

So, Gwen and Ben carried Rook while Max and Cooper carried Khyber and Albedo into the ship.

_**-BRoken-** _

As it turned out, after Azmuth had his mind returned to his body, he determined that Khyber could still be resuscitated. Brain death had already occurred, but cybernetic implants could be utilized to bypass most of the brain damage. He would, however, have no idea of who he was or what he'd done. A blank slate.

"What about...Albedo?" Ben quietly asked, glancing off to spy Rook being checked over in the next room: asleep and rejuvenating.

"Ah yes. Hmmm..." Azmuth led Ben to the room where Albedo's body was placed in and began tinkering with the Omnitrix on his back. "Actually, quite a clever device," Azmuth said. "Looks as though it could run forever." Azmuth then pulled the dial up, gave it a series of precise turns, and pressed down. In a flash the Galvan was replaced by a replica of Ben's ten year old self.

Albedo's eyes fluttered opened before taking in the sight of Azmuth looking at him with disinterest, and Ben looking at him with nothing but interest. "What are you two looking at?" he asked before his eyes widened. "What's wrong with my voice?" Albedo caught sight of Azmuth's now amused look and frowned. "What have you done to me,  _First Thinker_?"

"I've given you a second shot at life; one I hope you won't waste," Azmuth explained with a strict tone. "Your Omnitrix will no longer allow you to transform; in exchange for continued existence, and as punishment for your crimes, you will remain in Ben's form...but at a younger state."

"What?!" Albedo chocked in disbelief. "It was bad enough being stuck in his teenage form! How am I supposed to survive being trapped in this infantile stage without my Omnitrix?!Albedo then growled in frustration and asked, "And what is to become of me? Back to Plumbers Prison?"

Before Azmuth could answer, Ben cut in and said, "Actually, I might have a better idea..."

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben walked into the Plumbers HQ sickbay and went straight for Rook, who was still lying in bed. The doctors were keeping a close eye on his metabolism and blood-sugar levels.

"Azmuth's brought both Khyber and Albedo back to the land of the living. Neither are in any state to do anything evil," Ben explained, hoping his light tone would not cause Rook any undo stress given the situation. "Khyber hasn't a clue who he is or where he's from, and Azmuth is stuck looking like my ten year old self. Obviously they'll need someone to care for them both, love them, and raise them right. So, I suggested your  _ma'jun_  Vanessa could take them in,"

Rook nodded and said evenly, "She will enjoy the task. It has been too long since she cared for a child."

Ben nodded awkwardly. "I just want to say...I'm sorry I snapped at you before, Rook," Ben admitted, clasping his hands together and bowing his head. "It's just...I've grown up reading superhero comics and watching superhero cartoons. They always made to point out that no matter how terrible the crime, the criminal doesn't deserve to die. That's what makes the hero the hero. And ever since I got the Omnitrix, I've made it a priority to be  _that kind of_ hero."

"I admit, my mind was clouded at the time," Rook admitted as well, but shut his eyes at his next words. "But I still hold firm in that  _no_  love would've been lost if they were gone."

Ben opened his mouth to object, but Rook placed his hand over Ben's, silencing him without opening his eyes.

"It is my people's... _nature_...to be protective. Whether it is to our children, our home, or our culture." Rook slowly opened his eyes to look at Ben sternly and added, "And  _you_  are  _mine_  to protect, Ben." Rook then raised the back of his hand and caressed it against Ben's cheek and said, "Just as I am yours...it is what lovers do. "It has nothing to do with how powerful or weak you are...it is an involuntary reaction, caused by the heart."

Ben smiled and grasped Rook's hand, holding it against his face as firmly as he could, and just inhaled the scent of Rook's fur. It was earthy, yet sweet; it was, in every way, Rook.

Lightyears away, on Revonnah, the Elders, who held the sacred duty of maintaining law and order, came to a decision a decision that would seal the fates of two lovers.

**END VOLUME X**


	15. Volume XI

**Episode 41: Something Zombozo Comes This Way**

It was a balmy Saturday in Bellwood, and Ben Tennyson and Rook Blonko found themselves at their favorite food shack to share a stack of chili cheese fries (light on the onions, for Rook's sake). Overall, they were enjoying themselves...it had been two weeks since anything had happened. Two blissfully peaceful weeks. But while Rook found the peace and quiet relaxing, he was beginning to notice that Ben was looking a little ragged around the edges.

"Two weeks...two whole weeks...nobody's tried to blow up the Earth, or tried to kill me and take the Omnitrix," Ben said to himself, almost in a trance.

Rook tilted his head slightly in confusion. "Is that not a good thing, Beloved?" he asked. "A hero is one who works to make a world free of evil and chaos; should you not be relishing the fruits of your labor?"

Ben looked up to Rook, dark circles under his eyes as though from lack of sleep. "But that's just it, babe! I  _don't_  relish it! I'm anxious and jumpy! Ever since we teamed up, it's been one catastrophe after another: Khyber, Malware, Psychobos, the Incurseans, Dr. Animo, Vilgax...and all of a sudden, nothing! Not even a peep of trouble. Even Ester and Argit are back together, and doing fine!"

Rook's eyes widened in realization. "Are you saying, you feel that this may be the 'calm before the storm'?"

Ben nodded weakly, and seemed to collapse in on himself. "It's just, these last two weeks, you and I have been able to act like any other couple; no saving the world, spend all the time we want with each other, and I'm...scared..."

"Why are you scared?" Rook asked, very concerned by his fiance's current attitude.

Ben looked down, unable to hold Rook's gaze, and asked, "...Am I boring you?"

Rook was stunned and taken aback...how could Ben even think that... Quickly, Rook moved from his spot, mindful of the stack of fries, and scooped Ben into his lap.

"Beloved," he said, "You could never bore me. These last two weeks have been the best of my life simply  _because_  they were normal. I have enjoyed seeing all those films with you, and consuming the 'popped corn'. And the many trips to the comic book store were quite enjoyable."

Ben looked up and asked, "Really?"

"Yes," Rook replied. "I know that while out lives are less than ordinary, that never means that any rare opportunities to be ordinary are boring; they are, in fact, that much more enjoyable."

Ben smiled and gave Rook a chaste kiss. The stress of that last misadventure with Albedo and Khyber, and waiting for the Revonnahgander Elder's decision regarding Albedo's attempted annulment of his and Rook's engagement had been eating away at him for so long. It had only been last week that they'd heard the Elders' verdict to void Albedo's annulment. And while that had reduced Ben's stress, there were still some issues to work out...insecurities that the incident helped flush out.

At that moment, a clap of thunder boomed through the city, and the sky was cloaked with dark purple clouds. The echoes of what could only be called carnival music caused red-flags to go up in Ben's head. Sighing in defeat, Ben said, "I knew it."

_**-BRoken-** _

As the sound of final cheers came through the open tent flap of the circus, Ben got up from where he'd been sitting on a wooden crate to await Rook. Even through the shadows, Ben could make out the profile of his fiance as he made his way out.

"So, was it everything you thought it was going to be and oh so much more?" Ben asked, amused at the Rook's child-like interest in the circus.

Rook was silent, choosing to remain in the shadows. Ben cocked his head at Rook in confusion at this, but froze when Rook finally stepped into the light. Rook's face was covered in bone white paint with black circles around his eyes and red around his mouth. Instead of his cute cat-like nose, a big red one took its place. And his mouth was stuck in a horrifying grin. The frilly collar, gloves, and over-sized shoes completed the look.

"CLOWN!" Ben screamed before diving behind a nearby cotton-candy machine. He peeked his head up slightly, and frowned, hissing, "Rook! Why are you dressed like that? Are you TRYING to give me a heart-attack?!" Ben was very upset by this. As much as he tried to downplay his fear of clowns, Rook knew better than to actually dress up as one!

Rook just stared blankly at Ben, silent as death, and mouth still stuck in that terrifying grin.

"Plus, do you have any idea how hard it's gonna be to get that paint out of your fur?" Ben continued on, still very upset with Rook, and oblivious to any danger. "Damn it, Rook, say something!"

"Come one...come all," Rook droned.

Ben nearly choked as a slight shiver of fear went down his spine at the lifeless, and emotionless tone of Rook's voice. "Uh, heh, what was that?" Ben asked with a scared chuckle.

In response, Rook's shoulder-mounted Proto-Tool targeted Ben and fired. Ben dodged, but found it was only confetti. The next few shots weren't, though. "Damn you, Zombozo," Ben cried as he moved from cover to cover, "as if bringing your troop of freaks to Bellwood wasn't enough, you had to turn my future husband into a zombie!"

Turning himself into Upgrade, Ben first altered a cotton-candy machine, and then a popcorn machine, before finally upgrading Rook's Proto-Tool and shocking his fiance into submission.

_**-BRoken-** _

At Plumber HQ, Blukic and Driba examined Rook top to bottom, searching for an answer to his transformation, as Ben and Max watched through the observation window. Max noticed Ben looking decidedly downtrodden and so asked, "Something eating you, Ben?"

Ben sighed and replied, "Just...wondering if I'm really worth all the trouble...for Rook."

Max was completely dumbfounded by this, and said, "Excuse me?"

Ben chuckled darkly, and said in a self-deprecating tone, "Let's face it, Grandpa, I'm broken. Used goods. And I'm more trouble than I'm worth. I'm arrogant, unfocused, and a magnet for trouble. Everyone I care about always gets hurt when they're around me..."

Max frowned and pulled Ben close. "Now you listen to me, young man," he said with conviction, "you are  _not_  broken, nor or are you any more a magnet for trouble than any other Plumber. You are the most precious young man I've had the privilege to know. You do more for others than anyone else I've met! And Rook knows this. And he is  _not_  better off without you."

Max then kneeled down to Ben's level, and wiped away the tears falling from Ben's eyes. "If Rook were here now, he would be  _furious_  to see you thinking so little of yourself. I know it's been hard, lately, and I know it hurts. But how can we measure the worth of something without fighting for it? He loves you, little flaws and all, and he's willing to fight for you. Are you willing to fight for him?"

Ben sniffled a little, but let a small smile grace his face, and nodded. "I'm sorry, Grandpa. I guess everything with Albedo's just been simmering in my head, waiting to pop. I thought I was over what Kevin did, but I'm not."

Max returned Ben's smile and replied, "You have to remember, Ben, that Rook is  _not_  Kevin. The only thing that can ruin your relationship is for you to keep worrying about it. When Rook proposed to you, he made a promise to be there for you.  _Let_  him."

"I guess you're right," Ben said, feeling a little better.

"Atta' boy. Now, go find Zombozo, and give that sour ole' clown a swift kick in the butt."

_**-BRoken-** _

As Frankenstrike, Ben had managed to defeat every one of Zombozo's freaks. Feeling smug about his "not-fear" of clowns not cropping up, Ben didn't notice the zombiefying dentures flying through the air.

"Unless you've got a colorful bird with a  _crazy_  tail around," Ben bragged, "your boss is out of luck getting  _any_  fear from me!"

Too late, Ben saw in slow motion as the teeth latched on to the back of Max's leg.

"Grandpa!" Ben yelled in alarm, but it was to no avail. As soon as Max turned around, Ben found himself staring into into a horrifying visage of a twisted clown.

"Come one, come all..." Max droned, just as all the other zombie clowns were.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ben screamed, first as Frankenstrike, and then as himself when the Omnitrix timed out. And just like that, he was sent down memory lane, to the first time he'd gone to the circus.

He'd been 5 ½, and his Aunt Natalie had taken him and Gwen to the Ding-A Dong Circus. While there, one of the firefighter clowns had asked him if he'd like to ride the fire truck, on the little crooked ladder. Everything had been fine at first, until the truck went spiraling out of control due to mechanical failure. Little Ben was sent flying into the backside of 'Large The Elephant'. This, of course, literally scared the shit out of Large, promptly burying Ben in a massive pile of the stuff. The last thing Ben remembered of that day, were the faces of the clowns desperately trying to dig him out.

This event had left him  _very_  nervous around clowns, and poor Grandpa Max hadn't been informed of any of this. So when he came to take Ben to his 'first trip to the circus' with his face done up like a clown, he'd been utterly surprised by his grandson's response.

_**-BRoken-** _

Everyone was confused and unsure of what was going on. They all vaguely recalled being bitten by the dentures, but beyond that...it was a blur.

Rook wavered on his feet, but something about his revonnahgander biology helped him overcome the after-effects of coming out of...whatever that was...faster than the others. He had felt so helpless during it all, and seeing the look of complete fear in his Heart's Flame's eyes...

Speaking of Ben...

"Is everyone alright?" Max asked, rushing over to Rook, Blukic, and Driba.

"Yes, but, where is Ben?" Rook asked.

"Isn't that him over there?" Driba asked, pointing to Ben. The teenager was sitting on the ground, his back against one of the tent posts, and his head held in his hands while his body shook. The distinct sound of sobbing wafted through the tent.

"Beloved!" Rook rushed over with Max and the galvans, but when Rook stopped in front of Ben, he was surprised when Ben lowered his hands and screamed in horror at the sight of Rook.

"NO! GET AWAY! DON'T TOUCH ME!" Ben wailed, causing everyone's head to turn in shock.

"Ben, what is it?" Max asked in concern, letting out a yelp of alarm as Ben pressed himself further up against the tent post. Ben was...terrified!  _Of them_!

Especially Rook!

"Beloved, it is I, Rook!" the revonnahgander pleaded with Ben, trying to get through. But as soon as he reached out to place a comforting hand upon Ben's shoulder, the boy slapped him across the face.

"Ben!" Max yelled in disbelief.

But instead of letting go, Rook pulled a screaming and flailing Ben into his arms; the boy's kicking, screaming, and clawing not deterring Rook in the slightest.

"LET ME GO!" Ben sobbed, chocking on his tears. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" His chest heaved with sobs, hiccuping as Rook managed to pull them both to the ground, Ben's back against Rook's chest, and just continued to cry and squirm. "LET ME GO! GET AWAY FROM ME, PLEASE..." Ben pleaded, covering his face, and ceasing his struggles against Rook. "Let me go..." he whispered weakly.

"Never..." Rook whispered in return, simply running a gently hand up and down Ben's back, calming the anxious teen, and lulling him to sleep. "It will all be well, Ben," Rook said, tears forming around his own eyes, hurt and devastated by the fearful reaction Ben had just shown, "it will be alright..."

"Never alright..." Ben whispered just before sleep took him. "...Never gonna be alright...all wrong...broken...I'm broken..."

* * *

**Episode 42: Mystery, Incorporeal**

"So, not that I'm not happy to see you two, but, why are you here?" Gwen asked, as she lead them towards a snack bus out in the courtyard. "Last I heard, you were in therapy, Ben," she added, looking at her cousin with concern.

Ben offered Gwen a small smile. It had been a week since the Zombozo incident. He'd cried and screamed himself to sleep in Rook's arms at the circus, and when he'd awoken, his mind was clear. He'd been embarrassed about the whole situation, and kept trying to convince Max, Rook, and his parents that he was fine. None of them bought it, though, and Max immediately ordered Ben to start getting some counseling.

So, the next day, and for every other day after that, Ben talked to a Plumbers counselor. She was a Galilean named Atris, and had a very soothing voice. With some prodding, Ben had opened up to her, in detail, about his secret relationship with Kevin, and the mess the raven-haired teen had left him in. He also touched on his fear of clowns, the stress of Albedo nearly destroying his upcoming marriage to Rook, and his subconscious fear of Rook walking out on him just as Kevin had. In the end, Atris had suggested that Ben and Rook take a week off to get out of Bellwood, and for Rook to prove to Ben his love and loyalty.

As Ben explained all this to her, Gwen found herself having to re-appraise her cousin. She'd always assumed he was unrepentant of his arrogance, and had the emotional depth of a teaspoon. To her surprise, Ben was quite the contrary. This become very clear when a nearby jock recognized Ben and caused a crowd to form around him.

"Hey, listen, I'm flattered, but I'm just here to spend time with my cousin, Gwendolyn," Ben explained, giving Rook a side-long look that clearly said 'Get me out of here'. Rook nodded and hoisted Ben to sit atop his shoulders, once more grateful for his farmer upbringing giving him a strong back and legs, and forced his way through the crowd to reconvene with Gwen.

"Thanks, babe," Ben said as Rook helped him down.

"Actually," Rook replied, "I should be thanking you, Beloved. Those girls kept wanting to touch my face. Most unpleasant."

Ben smiled and gently placed both his hands on either side of Rook's face, and rubbed. Immediately, Rook began to purr at the sensation. "But  _I'm_  the only one who can touch your face, right?"

Rook smiled and answered, "Always, Beloved," before pulling Ben into a slow, deep kiss.

A gasp from the crowd earned an indignant yell from Ben, before Gwen directed his eyes to a Charmcaster golem falling from the sky. "Why couldn't they be gasping for me being gay?" he huffed.

The gang was sent flying as the golem landed, creating a massive crater. Mid-air, though, Ben managed to dial in an alien on the Omnitrix before landing on his feet next to Cooper and Zed.

"What is that thing?" Cooper asked in surprise.

"Right-right-right!" Juryrigg squeaked. "Weren't with us on early missions! Rock monster belongs to Charmcaster! Nasty little witch! Powers like Gwen's, but bigger! Much-much bigger!"

"Well, you know what they say; magic's just technology you don't understand," Cooper said before his eyes started to glow blue, "so let's see what this technology is made of!" He raised his hands toward the golem to feel out for any circuits or metal. Finding none, he searched for any electrical impulses which might indicate artificial neural activity. Again none. And for all this trouble, he was forced to quickly evade the damn thing swatting at him.

"Not technology! Magic!" Lucky Girl screamed, having just transformed behind a statue. She was now attacking in earnest, firing off a volley of mana bolts.

"Yeah, I see that," Cooper replied, before summoning his gauntlets from his car. "Well, there's more than one way to skin a golem!"

While Cooper attacked with his fists, and Rook attacked with his Proto-Tool arrows, Juryrigg 'fixed' the smashed snack bus that was smashed by the golem's landing. Attacking with bottles of hit-sauce didn't appear to be affective at anything but catching the golem's attention, and Juryrigg began to panic when the owner's head appeared in the loading barrel.

The golem lunged, knocking Juryrigg out of the control seat, and pinning him to the ground. To add insult to injury, the Omnitrix chose that moment to time out, leaving Ben in his human form, and at the mercy of the snarling golem.

"ROOK!" Ben screamed.

And like a cannonball, the revonnahgander threw himself at the golem, somehow managing to push it off of Ben. Though his eyes appeared normal, and his hair wasn't growing into a mane, Rook's claws and fangs were definitely out. With a roar, he back-handed the golem, actually cracking the rock a bit.

"Stand back, Rook," Gwen called, as she threw a super-charged mana bolt at the golem's cracked cheek, causing the head to explode.

As the dust cleared, Rook ran to Ben's side. His claws having retracted, he was able to pull the young man into his arms without difficulty. "Are you alright, Beloved?"

"Yeah," Ben said shakily, but offering a weak smile. "Thanks for the save."

Rook smiled in return and replied, "Never doubt that I won't be there for you."

As Ben was helped onto his feet by his fiance, he looked to Gwen and said, "So, Charmcaster is back."

"Definitely," Gwen said, nodding.

"So, who exactly  _is_  Charmcaster?" Cooper asked.

"I'll explain on the way; I  _really_  need to be going to my Art History class," Gwen sighed.

As they walked Gwen began explaining about the dark sorcerer Hex, and how Charmcaster was his niece. Gwen then explained how she learned magic from Charmcaster's spell-book.

"Hmm, she sounds much like my  _ma'jun_ ," Rook commented. "She too is a Wielder of Magic. And though my whole family loves her dearly, we recognize that she is...dangerous."

Ben frowned at this and asked, "But I thought your people were very structured and traditional. Wouldn't they denounce something like magic?"

Rook took on a sheepish look as he explained, " _My_  people, yes. However, my 'Godmother' is not of Revonnah."

"Rook Da actually let an off-worlder become your Godmother?" Gwen asked with surprise.

"You must understand," Rook hastened to say, "there were unusual extenuating circumstances behind the matter, but yes. Needless to say, though, she did a great service for my family, and was openly welcomed."

"So, what is she?" Cooper asked. "Human? Anodite?"

Rook shrugged and answered, "No one knows. She is a shape-shifter, and maintains the appearance of a revonnahgander while on Revonnah." As Rook looked to his friends to judge their reactions to this news, it shamed him to see Ben starring at him with a hurt look. It was obvious that Ben felt this to be something Rook should have shared with him already, which made the matter of Ben's subconscious distrust of the validity of Rook's feelings for him that much more tenuous.

_**-BRoken-** _

"...that was in vogue for many of the 18th Century. Many find the..." Professor Zagliff droned, moving from slide to slide. Though Ben ignored all this in favor of glaring at Rook with equal parts hurt and anger.

"Is there a problem, Beloved?" Rook asked as he casually glanced at Ben through his peripheral vision. This really wasn't the time or place to fight about something this trivial. But some part of Rook couldn't help but wonder if, to Ben, the matter was as trivial as he thought.

"Don't you  _Beloved_  me, Rook Blonko!" Ben hissed as quietly as possible, earning an "Oooh, full name," from Cooper.

"Is there something wrong, Ben?" Rook asked, his eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Yes, there is!" Ben answered. "As it is, I still don't know much about Revonnah, your childhood, your siblings,  _or_  your parents! And that's all due to me being an Off-Worlder. But oh, lookie here: some strange shape-shifting witch comes along out'ta no where and gets to be your Godmother! I saved your homeworld twice; why aren't I getting offers to be someone's goddamn Godfather?!"

"Shh! Beloved, this really is neither the time or place," Rook reprimanded.

"Rook is right, dude," Cooper added. "You're gonna get Gwen in trouble." However, one look from Ben immediately had the blonde cowering behind Zed.

"The  _only_  reason you know so much about me," Ben said, "is because of my Plumbers file. Do you have any idea how clinical and unromantic that is? It'd be too easy to read your file and get the answers I want, but that's not how a relationship works! You ask questions! You've never once asked me  _why_  I'm scared of peacocks, or who my childhood friends were! And anytime I asked you questions like that, all I ever got was an 'It is in my file, Beloved.'"

"Ben..."

Ben was now yelling at the top of his lungs as he said, "No! You kept something from me that I had every right to know! How am I supposed to say 'I do' to you when I can't even trust you to tell me things!"

At that moment, Zagliff butted in and demanded that Gwen and her 'entourage' remove themselves from the class immediately.

_**-BRoken-** _

Dante cackled as the Distance Charm of Bezel glimmered on his chest. "You were right, it does say 'telekinesis'!" he said.

Gwen quickly hurled two mana bolts at Dante, who simply held out a hand and absorbed the energy. His hand then began to glow a familiar black as he said, "Lovely Gwen, your mana is too sweet."

Ben's eyes widened in recognition at the pet name. Only one person they had ever met referred to his cousin as 'Lovely Gwen'.

"You!" Gwen bellowed in rage and disbelief before a tendril of black energy lashed at at her from Dante, and wrapped itself around her, lifting her off the ground.

"Darkstar!" Ben cried.

Dante growled before pulling off the chameleon mask, revealing his true identity. "That's  _Michael Morningstar_ , you pathetic cretin!"

"Who?" Cooper asked in confusion.

"Another evil ex come to haunt me and Gwen," Ben explained.

Rook's eyes narrowed, his pupils starting to turn to slits. "You had intercourse with him as well?!" he growled.

"Wai-... _what_?!" Michael exclaimed. "I never slept with him! I don't even swing that way!"

Ben leveled him with a death glare and said, "Okay, two things! First, you don't have to sound so repulsed by the idea; you'd be damn lucky to have had a chance with me! Second,  _really_? A pretty-boy like you isn't even bi-?!" He then turned to Cooper and exclaimed, "This is evil ex number one: before Kevin. Gwen dated this creep for all of two days before we realized he was an alien hybrid who feeds off of mana."

"So a half-anodite would seem like an all-you-can-eat buffet," Cooper reasoned.

"Heh, this is the rip-off Lovely Gwen traded both myself and Kevin in for?" Darkstar asked in a haughty tone. "I had hoped you were just some gay boyfriend for Gwen to cuddle with until she found herself a real man."

"Excuse me?" Cooper cried incredulously. "I am  _not_  a rip-off! And I'm certainly not gay!"

Darkstar snorted derisively and replied, "You're blonde and sophisticated like me, but with the long hair and overly-muscled build of Levin. Need I say more?"

"Shut up!" Ben cried, "Cooper is  _nothing_  like Kevin!"

"I suppose you'd know," Darkstar replied. "Honestly, what kind of slut sleeps with his cousin's boyfriend?"

Ben froze at that, as the words rang true in his head. He  _was_  a slut! Kevin had been with Gwen, and he'd just sidled up alongside the raven, bent over for him, and took it like a bitch in heat!

"YOU BASTARD!" Rook roared as he lunged at Darkstar in a semi-feral state. A pulse from Darkstar's charm, however, blasted him back.

And so the chase was on.

_**-BRoken-** _

Darkstar was now with the authorities, and Ben was on his way to the Dean's office to discuss the honorary doctorate diploma he'd been given by the student body. Honestly, Gwen deserved this more than he did. Plus, he'd had enough of being handed things he hadn't really earned.

As he approached the office door, he noted the name plate attached to it.

_**Samuel Winchester, PhD.** _

_**Dean of Friedkin University** _

Ben went to knock on the door, but jumped a little when it opened on it's own. He timidly stepped inside and noticed the dean's chair was facing the window. "Uh, Dean Winchester? I need to talk to you about this honorary diploma. You see, I really didn't do anything to deserve it. I don't want to sound ungrateful, but, I really can't accept this. You should give it to my cousin: Gwendolyn Tennyson. She's an art history student here, and she deserves this way more than I."

Ben's monologue was met with silence for but a moment before a child's giggle could be heard, along with that of a grown woman. The dean's chair turned to reveal a gorgeous human woman with long raven locks, and a strapless black gown. Sitting in her lap was...

"Albedo?!" Ben exclaimed.

The woman's lips turned upward a bit as she looked down to the albino 10-year old clone of Ben Tennyson and said, "I see what you mean; his is a bit of a dolt." She then looked at Ben, and said with a genuinely kind smile, "Quite noble, though."

Ben starred at the woman confusedly for a second before connecting the dots. "You're Vanessa! You're Rook's  _ma'jun_  whom Rook and I gave Albedo and Khyber to! You're the shape-shifting witch!"

The air around Vanessa seemed to shimmer and distort, like it was being rapidly heated, before calming and leaving a decidedly  _revonnahgander_  female in Vanessa's place. "That's correct."

Ben looked around the office and asked, "Where's the Dean?"

"I'm afraid I had to ask Dean Winchester to step out for a few moments," Vanessa replied. "Originally, I came here because my spies had informed me of an arrogant little upstart who was planning to open a portal into Ledgerdomain, and suck it dry of mana. My surprise when I find my godson and his boyfriend here, fighting, over  _me_  no less!"

Vanessa pinched the bridge of her nose before saying, "You have to understand that as much as Rook has changed because of you, there is still so much of him that has stayed the same. He's still a revonnahgander, and as such, still does not willingly volunteer information about himself, his family, his people, and his homeworld. The fact that he allowed you to read his Plumbers file is an immense honor."

Ben frowned and replied, "But I'm his  _fiance_! I shouldn't have to settle for second-best!"

"Just as my  _swee'ja_  shouldn't have to settle for a nosy Off-Worlder who knows nothing of his people's ways," Vanessa shot back with a slight frown. "So, you both are compromising. He's allowing you to read his file instead of insisting it be locked down for only Magisters to read, which is very much in his right, and you are willing to put up with revonnahgander traditions that have been ingrained in him since the day he was born. Are we clear?"

Ben ( _did not pout_ ) frowned for a minute or two before deflating and answering, "Yeah...we're clear."

Vanessa's expression brightened considerably as she said, "Excellent! Then I wish you both a long, happy, and satisfying relationship and marriage."

"Wait, where's Khyber?" Ben asked, feeling very uneasy about the little brat on Vanessa's lap, but no tall, dark, and scary.

Vanessa smirked and replied, "Oh, I left him at a Super Alien Hero Buddies convention! It's so cute, he loves that show to death, but he somehow got it in his head that you, my dear, are a rip-off of that show." At Ben's dropped jaw, and almost horrified look, her smirk widened, and with a much too innocent voice she added, "I can't imagine who would've convinced the poor dear of that!"

She and Albedo then burst out into almost evil chuckles as they disappeared in a glimmer of lights.

Ben left the Dean's office feeling quite sick, and very much wanting to strangle a certain raven-haired bitch.

* * *

**Episode 43: Bengeance Is Mine**

All of Undertown watched as holograms of Vilgax appeared above blasted open manhole there.

Rook's eyes narrowed as he hissed, "Is that who I think it is?!"

Ben's eyes went wide as he exclaimed, "Vilgax!"

"People of Earth," Vilgax growled, "if you are seeing this, your so-called hero,  _Ben Tennyson_ , has thwarted me once too often, and denied me my conquest...of  _him_  just as many times. But this time, I have prepared for such a contingency. It pleases me to no end that you all will soon perish! And as for whomever currently lays claim to Tennyson's body; if I cannot have what I want, then neither will you!" As the hologram dissipated, the door to Pakmar's Loofa Emporium opened, releasing a massive amount of steam, and terrifyingly familiar silhouette.

"You're gonna want to let it air out in there," a large, bald, bearded man said. "Last thing you want to deal with is mold issues, believe, you, me."

"Stop right there!" Rook exclaimed, having immediately pushed Ben behind them when he'd seen the Vilgax-like silhouette. He pulled out his scanner to get a DNA reading of the man in front of him. When the results returned, his facial expression and posture relaxed. Turning to Ben he said, "He is not Vilgax. Even if had altered his DNA to conform to human DNA, traces of his original DNA would still be present. I detect no trace DNA samples."

"Are you sure?" Ben asked, glancing suspiciously at the plumber. "I mean, this is  _Vilgax_  we're talking about!"

"I promise you," Rook said before turning back to the man and saying, "Apologies. You resemble the war criminal known as Vilgax."

The plumber chuckled and replied, "Yep, I get that a lot. Name's Bill Gacks. Sorry to startle you fellers."

"That's quite alright," Rook said.

After Bill left, Bern turned to Rook with a frown and said, "Rook, I love you, and I trust you with my life, but I am not convinced that that man  _isn't_  Vilgax."

Rook sighed, and turned a sorrowful eye to his Beloved. "Ben, I know Vilgax terrifies you more than any of your other rogues, but you cannot make such accusations without definitive proof." Seeing Ben's pout, though, Rook added with a put-upon smile, "If it will make you feel better, I will request a recon team to keep an eye on Mr. Gacks."

Ben smiled and wrapped his arms around Rook. "Thank you."

"Anything for you, Beloved."

_**-BRoken-** _

As Bill stepped up to the house where his next appointment was at, he stopped as a bone-white skinned alien approached him.

"My Master has finally returned!" Psyphon exclaimed joyaously. He then went down on his knees and bowed before Bill as he said, "It is I, your humble servant, Psyphon."

Bill looked about awkwardly as he replied, "Uh, man, I don't know you."

"Agh, don't say that, Great One! Please, take me back! I thought I could handle being a leader, and no longer being your bitch, but my own gang makes fun of me! I truly am good for nothing more than worshiping your body."

Bill blushed profusely, still looking around for some sign that this was all an elaborate prank. "Uh, son? I think you've got me REALLY confused with someone else," he said. "Though I do appreciate the hidden compliment towards my body. To be honest, I've been kinda self-conscious ever since I started losing my hair and gaining the ole spare tire." He then gave his generous gut a few pats to prove his point.

"Nonsense, my liege!" Psyphon cried, inching closer and closer to Bill. "You are the picture of sex-appeal! Please! Allow me to ravish your person!"

Terrified that this Psyphon bloke was gonna blow him right here and now in front of all and sundry, but very much interested in his proposition, Bill said, "Uh, why don't we take this inside." He then grinned and added, "I'm curious to see just how you'd 'ravish my person'." He then chuckled and snaked an arm around Psyphon's waist before leading him inside the house.

_**-BRoken-** _

"Psyphon!" Ben cried, glaring up at Vilgax's former majordomo, who was had two bags full of cash in his hands. "Back working for Vilgax?" Ben asked.

"Indeed," Psyphon replied, grinning ear to ear, though there was something more to his tone of voice and grin that immediately raised a red flag in Ben's mind. "I am back to... _servicing_...my Master," Psyphon said, chuckling at his double entendre."

"And he still hired you back?" Ben asked. "Vilgax must be desperate."

"Indeed," Rook added. "Especially given that robbing a bank does not sound like his typical scheme."

"That's because you don't understand the Master like  _I_  do!" Psyphon replied. "You could have had it all, Tennyson. You could have had wealth, comfort, and pleasure plenty...enough to make you the envy of whatever deities might exist. But you're too late. Now it will all be  _mine_!" And with that, Psyphon opened fire on the two Plumbers.

_**-BRoken-** _

"How are we going to stop that many monsters?" Rook asked as he surveyed the damage being caused.

Ben's response was to activate the Omnitrix and, though the voice of Bullfrag, say, "Take em down one at a time." He then turned to Rook with a grin and added, "Bet'cha didn't think you'd ever see me again, huh, handsome?" before leaping into the fray.

Rook followed after Bullfrag and began laying down cover fire for his Beloved. "Protect city now, flirt later!" he yelled to Bullfrag. "Definitely later, though," he added with a smirk.

Bullfrag didn't get the chance to respond as he was getting dog-piled by several monsters all at once. Taking a deep breath, he explosively expanded his chest to throw them all off before leaping to safety.

_**-BRoken-** _

"It appears the squid monsters are coordinating and moving deliberately now," Rook observed as he ran over to Bull Frag and Bill Gacks.

Indeed, the squids were all gathering together, one coming out of a nearby alleyway, revealing a lone figure standing on the top its head.

"Psyphon," Bullfrag spat out in disgust at the sight of the loot-licker. "Of course Vilgax's bitch would be be leading the way."

"Benjamin!" Rook scolded in shock and dismay.

Fullfrag rolled his eyes behind his stylish sunglasses and amended, "Fine. 'Female dog'. Better?"

"Moderately," Rook replied. "With Psyphone controlling them, the squid monsters are much more organized, and much more formidable."

The Omnitrix timed out, and Ben was once more himself. Turning to Bill with a sheepish look he said, "Look, I'm sorry. If the squid monsters are attacking you, and Psyphon is leading them, then you aren't Vilgax." Ben looked ashamed, casting his eyes to the ground. "I'm sorry I accused you of being a psychopathic alien hellbent on conquering both the galaxy and me."

Bill chuckled and replied, "Well, I admit you sure are sugar for the eyes, but I ain't no pedo. I'm a good, honest man, trying to make an honest days work in my humble field."

Ben cracked a grin at that and said, "You know, Psyphon still thinks you're Vilgax...maybe we can use that against him." Turning to Rook with a mischievous look he said, "Babe, I have a plan."

"Bralla-Da," Rook sighed good naturedly. "I assume this plan makes no consideration for the buildings around you?"

"Actually, it does. This close to Valentines, we both can't afford to cause collateral damage," Ben replied. He then turned to Bill and said, "So, will you help us?"

"Sounds like fun," Bill answered. "On one condition."

"And that would be?" Rook asked."

"Come to my band's gig this Saturday."

_**-BRoken-** _

As Psyphon and the squid monsters were being cuffed and carted away into the ships, Psyphone cast a saddened and betrayed look toward the imposing backside of Vilgax.

"Master, I don't understand..." Psyphon said, but froze, his face turning into a look of shocked disbelief, as Vilgax removed the holo-mask from his face to reveal Bill Gacks.

"Huh?! You...you aren't him!" Psyphon exclaimed, his face dropping in disbelief. "All this time I was following you, and you weren't even Vilgax!"

Bill moseyed on over to Psyphon and wrapped an arm around him in a comforting gesture, and pulled him tight against his body.

"I know it hurts, baby, but don't you worry..." Bill said as he gave Psyphon's rear a playful pinch. "...I talked it over with one of them space police officers, and they say I can come over for a little 'conjugal visit', if you know what I mean."

"I-I..." Psyphon stammered, "the  _real_  Vilgax would  _never_  have bothered to come visit me, or treat me in such an...affectionate manner." Psyphon looked up coyly at Bill with a vivid blush of attraction. "I will eagerly await your visit...'Master'."

Over a ways, Ben and Rook watched the exchange with equal parts admiration and disgust. Ben, though, saw something of himself in Psyphon. The man hungered for the attention of a man bigger, stronger, and braver than him; someone who could protect him. Somehow, though, he always expected to find such a thing in the wrong man. Vilgax and Kevin were a lot alike in that sense; never caring to give their smaller counterparts the attention they craved. Ben hoped that Psyphon would find in Bill, what he had found in Rook.

**END VOLUME XI**


	16. Volume XII

**Episode 44: An American Benwolf In London**

"Seriously, Rook. I can handle it," Ben said around the straw of his smoothie-filled cup.

Currently, Rook and Ben were in the Proto-TRUK, flying over the Atlantic, on their way to help Kai Green. The ride had been filled with a tense silence owing to a spat Rook and Ben had gotten into over Vanessa. Rook had thought things between them had gotten better after the Psyphon incident last week. Ben had still been making tri-weekly visits with his Galilean therapist, Atris. But out of nowhere, an argument had cropped up. And while Ben had apologized and assured Rook that everything was fine, Rook could see the distance Ben was putting between them.

What troubled him most of all, though, was that Ben was torturing himself over these arguments he and Rook had been getting into. According to Gwen (whom he'd been talking to more and more lately) Ben was so scared of his insecurities driving Rook away, that he was driving a wedge between them in some subconscious attempt to be in control of what would be the end of their relationship! Furthermore, Gwen had told him that until Ben could get himself sorted, Ben felt that he and Rook really had no business continuing their relationship. After all, it would only end in heartbreak for them both.

"Whatever this thing is, in London," Ben continued, "I can handle it myself."

"Are you just saying that because you wish to put distance between us, because you are afraid that my presence might aggravate your current state of mind?" Rook replied.

Ben promptly spat out his mouthful of smoothie in surprise and stared at Rook.

"I can assure you, Beloved," Rook said with a sad look, "trying to keep us apart will not settle your unease. In point of fact, it will cause us  _both_  more pain." He paused for a moment before saying in an apologetic tone, "Gwen and I talk."

Ben turned away from Rook and sighed. It was obvious Rook's words had hit home, and Ben knew that no matter what he said, at this point, it would only hurt them both.

Luckily, a distraction was in sight in the form of them making their approach on the Westminster Bridge. Through the Proto-TRUK's bow view-port they spotted Kai Green standing there. Once they had landed, Ben stepped out and went to greet the young Navajo woman. Ben's smile and upbeat attitude were clearly a mask, though whether or not Kai was fooled was unclear. Standing before his first crush, Ben couldn't help but notice that he no longer saw in Kai whatever he'd seen when they first met. He could still clearly see in his mind the memory of watching Kai dance, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember why it had caught his attention so. And that troubled him deeply.

_**-BRoken-** _

Once they'd arrived at Howl's Castle Moving & Storage, Ben had made the snap decision to split up to search for clues, and immediately grabbed Kai's wrist and walked off, leaving Rook behind. He never bothered to look back to see Rook's sad frown.

"Ooo-kay, I'm getting the feeling that you two are fighting," Kai said as they walked through an aisle of crates, not really looking for clues.

"You know, I don't get it," Ben replied. "I had a crush on you. I totally did! When I first saw you, I was totally mesmerized by your dancing. Now I look at you and...nothing!"

Kai grinned at that and said, "You know, I should probably be insulted by that. But trust me when I say you were  _always_  gay."

Ben sneered and asked, "What? Ancient Navajo sixth sense?"

Kai giggled and answered, "Sure, we can call it that. Or we could call it 'gaydar'."

Ben rolled his eyes and looked away, peeking in between two crates just to look like he was actually trying to do something about the case they were on.

Kai watched him and smiled, rolling her eyes at how silly and ludicrous the boy was being. "Ben, Rook is precious to you; I can totally see just how deeply in love he is with you! And I can totally see just how deeply  _you_ are in love with  _him_. Don't second guess yourself. Your greatest quality is how decisive you are. You just jump right in to a situation without a plan and  _make it work_! And you're so confident in your decisions. And while all that ego should bring the roof down around you, Rook is the pillar that somehow manages to hold it up. Do you have any idea how incredible that is?"

Ben looked to Kai with a sad smile. "I do love him," he replied. "Everytime we're apart, I feel like I'm missing something. When I was with Levin, I drowned myself in work when we weren't together. Hell, I tried  _not_  to think about him even when we  _were_  together!" Wrapping his arms around himself, he turned to Kai with such a defeated look, Kai was afraid she'd have to but the brunette boy on suicide watch! "I felt  _so empty_ , Kai," Ben said. "Empty, and  _ugly_."

"What about with Rook?" Kai asked.

At this, Ben seemed to perk up, if only just a little, and answered, "When I think of him, I feel like I can fly...without the Omnitrix. And that when I'm saving the world, it's not for my own personal gratification...it's to make him proud of me. He matters that much to me."

Kai but her fist to her hips and cocked her left hip to the side, taking on the stance of a woman in command reprimanding her subordinate for being a complete moron. "Then why are you doubting your feelings? Sounds to me like your dead-sure."

Ben did a double-take at that before smiling a little and chuckling softly. "Do you  _always_  have to be so right?"

"I don't  _have_  to be," Kai answered with a grin. "But I am."

At that moment, Rook walked up to them, holding several sheets of paper in his hand. "I believe I have found something," he said. Looking from Kai to Ben, Rook felt as though he'd walked in on something private. Though, from the way Ben was now looking him in the eye with the smallest trace of a smile, Rook was satisfied that whatever it had been, it would prove to be a boon to them both.

_**-BRoken-** _

Highgate Cemetery certainly was a sight to behold. As they walked along the path, Rook commentated on just a few of the world-famous people buried there. As Ben's eyes wandered about, they fell upon a statue in the shape of an angel holding it's head in it's hands, though it wasn't hunched over like a person would if they were crying. More like it was serving as a representation of the old adage 'See no evil.'

Noticing his Beloved appearing to to be having a staring contest with the statue, Rook joined Ben's side and asked, "What are you doing?"

"This statue," Ben answered, "I don't trust it. I've seen what happens when you look away from angel statues."

Kai walked over, her face somewhere between a frown and a grin, though very much incredulous. "Pff, are you for real? Ben, that's just a silly TV show!"

Ben turned to Kai with grin and replied, "Which you just admitted to watching."

Kai's response was to raise a single brow and grin. Her grin only widened as a horrified look ghosted over grin, and his head and eyes snapped back to the angel statue. Satisfied that it hadn't moved, Ben unconsciously grabbed Rook's hand and backed away slowly about five steps before turning away and power walking as far as possible.

While Rook was pleased that Ben had sought out his presence for comfort and protection, he was nonetheless confused. "I appear to be missing something," Rook said.

"Old British science fiction TV show," Kai explained. "Started in the early 60's and has been going strong ever since. Actually, I've heard that Ben's friend, Professor Paradox, greatly resembles the main protagonist."

_**-BRoken-** _

Things were getting frantic inside the Vault. For one thing, the Forever King, Chadwick, had taken the Jeckyll formula and had become a hideous ape-monster. For another, even with his vast strength now afforded him by the formula, he could not pull Excalibur from the stone. This, of course, made Chadwick  _very_  angry. His rage, doubled by the Jekyll formula, had made him out of control, and he ordered the deaths of the four Plumbers.

"Sire?" Sir Morton questioned in alarm at his king's extreme behaviour.

"HOW DARE YOU QUESTION YOUR KING?!" Chadwick bellowed in rage. "DESTROY THEM ALL!"

Rook immediately lept into action. Still a bit feral from the fight atop the London Towers, he lunged at the Red Knight and, with claws far sharper than the Red Knight's armor, tore out the android's power supply. Picking up the lifeless machine, Rook flung it at Sir Morton who was making a go for Kai. The weight of the robot, plus the force with which it had been flung, sent Sir Morton barreling into the Forever Twins.

Rook made to go after Chadwick, but Humongasaur immediately stood in his path.

"That's enough, babe," Humongasaur said. "We have to get out of here!"

"No," Rook hissed. "Chadwick, Khyber, Albedo, they are all the same! Threatening your life, and our happiness! I will do to Chadwick what you cannot! I will  _end_  him...just as I  _ended_  Albedo!" Rook then made to dart around the dinosaur-like alien, but was instead picked up by it, and brought to it's face. Humongasaur looked right at Rook with pleading eyes, now welling up with tears. "Babe, stop this," he cried. "This isn't you! You're not a killer! Blonko, please, help us get out of here!"

Rook froze, the sound of his name ringing in his ears like a snap of fingers, bringing him out of whatever trance he'd been in. Returning to an almost normal state for a Revonnahgander who'd gone feral twice in the last hour, Rook looked up at Humongasaur and said, "You...you called me 'Blonko'."

Deliriously happy to see his fiance back to normal, Humongasaur chuckled slightly around slowly falling tears before saying, "Well, yeah. That is your name, you silly kitty."

"I did not think I'd ever hear you say it," Rook said.

"I'm sorry I made you wait," Humongasaur replied. "With everything that's happened lately, it feels like our bond has been pushed to the limit. You've seen the parts of me I've tried to hide. All the fears, the insecurities. Hiding them all behind this mask built over a year...all to come crumbling down in a matter of weeks."

Rook raised his hand to Humongasaur's face and gently rubbed soothing circles into his cheek as he said, "You never need to fear that I will leave you, Ben. Even if it takes me the rest of my life, I will prove to you every day how committed I am to you."

Humongasaur sniffled and said with a crack in his voice, "My Blonko."

"My Ben," Rook replied as he leaned his head forward to touch Humongasaur's in a Revonnahgander sign of affection.

"Eh-hem," Kai coughed, "as touching as this is, there are still bad guys! We need to leave, like, yesterday."

"NO ONE LEAVE'S WITHOUT THE LEAVE OF THE FOREVER KING!" Chadwick bellowed then before sealing what appeared to be their only way out.

_**-BRoken-** _

Rook was the last to swim into the Vault's drain, and so was the list to appear out of the drainage tube. His eyes immediately went to search for his Heart's Flame, but stopped when said young man barreled into him, sending them both to the ground. Rook was mildly startled at first, but pleased to see his Ben laughing around tears while clinging desperately to Rook's Proto-Armor.

"We did it, Blonko! We escaped! We're free of Chadwick!" Ben cried.

Rook smiled and held onto Ben, reveling in how his name sounded coming from Ben's lips.

"We are free," Rook agreed, though to himself he wondered where Morton and the twins had gone, and if Chadwick had truly 'gone down with the ship'.

_**-BRoken-** _

On a remote island, one of the sparse few Revonnah had, there was a stately manor made of a dark cherry colored wood. This was the home of Rook Essa. To most revonnahganders, she was one of them. She was born to coax amber-ogia from the rocky homes. A tad eccentric for a revonnahgander her age, but certainly not dangerous.

To the Rook family, she was a shape-shifting witch known as Vanessa. She was  _ma'jun_  to Rook Blonko, Rook Shar, Rook Shim, Rook Shi, and Young One. And she was the adopted mother of former galactic miscreants Albedo and Khyber.

In one of the many rooms that the manor held, a little boy of 10 with snow-white hair and blood-red eyes held a scalpel over a newly acquired doll. He did so love to play 'Surgery', and his best friend, Khyber, made an excellent nurse.

Albedo studied the doll before him. It was rather strange in that it was an ape wearing a crown and cape. He couldn't possibly identify what this creature was, and his 'mother' had only grinned and walked off when he'd asked.

As the scalpel came down, Albedo thought it kind of his 'mother' to have given him three other dolls...part of a set, he imagined. If this patient didn't make it, then perhaps the other three would.

* * *

**Episode 45: Animo Crackers**

"I just feel that, had someone explained the situation clearly in the beginning," Rook said, still trying to rationalize the romantic comedies he'd just seen. Ben, however, felt it best that Rook give up the ghost...there was no rationalizing romantic comedies.

"That's just how movies, or life for that matter, work, babe," Ben said throwing up his hands to emphasis his point. "I mean, I can't begin to count how many times Gwen or Grandpa Max have tried to explain something to me. But did I ever listen? No!" Ben sighed and said in a self-deprecating tone, "Usually because I'm too stubborn, being overly emotional, or just plain dense."

"You are belittling yourself again, Beloved," Rook pointed out with a furrowed brow.

"I know, I know," Ben replied with a sigh. He then grinned and said, "Once upon a time, there were people who would've paid big money to hear me belittling myself instead of being egotistical."

"Par for the course?" Rook returned, smiling.

"Guess so," Ben answered. "Now, as for your problems with romantic comedies, can you honestly say that if you caught me in a compromising position with someone that wasn't you, you wouldn't go overboard, and throw a fit worthy of Steve Carrell?"

"Yes," Rook said definitively. "I would calmly ask about what series of events had led to this indiscretion, and that you please extract yourself from whomever was compromising you."

"So you'd keep a cool head if I was being pleasured by Zak, or Rex, or-" Ben stopped when a deep-throated growl erupted from Rook. Looking at his fiance, Ben fell to his knees laughing at the look of absolute jealousy that now adorned the revonnahgander's face. "And there's...the r-...romantic comedy!" Ben gasped between his giggles.

Rook simply stared at Ben before rolling his eyes and smiling. He'd been caught red-handed.

They both went very serious, though, when the alarm sounded.

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben and Rook finally managed to make it through the foliage to find three figures standing in the middle of the clearing.

"There is Animo," Rook stated, identifying the first figure. Moving to the second, his eyes went wide in surprise as he said, "And...a large albino gorilla." What he found most surprising was that it was a human head, in a jar, synthetically attached to the body of a giant albino gorilla. Such creatures did not naturally exist on Earth.

"Actually, that's also Animo," Ben clarified for Rook, who gave his Beloved a questioning look. "Oh, right," Ben said sheepishly, "I fought him way back...in the future...where I met an older version of myself...with a beard."

"Ahh," Rook commented. "And how did I look?"

Ben's sheepish smile faded, replaced with a sheepish frown as he said, "You...weren't there. But only because I was a douche in that time-line and drove away everyone I loved. That's no longer my future. Paradox told me so."

"A pity," Rook replied with a slight grin, "I would be intrigued to see you with facial hair."

Ben blushed slightly and cleared his throat before saying, "Stop psychopaths now, flirt later."

"Of course," Rook agreed, serious once more. "Do you recognize the third figure?"

Ben stared long and hard at the third figure, trying to remember if he'd ever met anyone wearing that armor, or that green scarf. Coming up blank he replied, "Nope, but I intend to find out." Stepping out of the brush, Ben called out, "Okay, nobody move!"

All eyes turned to Ben, though the figure in the armor was the only one to say anything.

"Rook Ben Tennyson!" Chrono Spanner exclaimed.

" _Rook_  Ben Tennyson?" Present-Animo asked his future counterpart.

"Oh, yes. They get married," Future-Animo explained, in a bored tone. "Pictures of the ceremony infected the Extranet like the H1N1 virus. Now, you go that way, and I'll go the other," Future-Animo explained, pointing which direction he wanted each of them to take before the both took off.

"You're not going anywhere!" Chrono Spanner cried before going after Future-Animo.

"Leave them to me," Ben said, making to chase after the time travellers, "you get Animo."

"Agreed, but be careful," Rook said, quickly stealing a chaste kiss before going after Present-Animo.

Ben smiled and replied, mostly to himself, "Aren't I always?"

_**-BRoken-** _

As Ben came to from being knocked out by Future-animo, he found himself looking up to the outstretched hand of the young armored masked man. Narrowing his eyes, he asked, "Do I know you?" before accepting the offered hand and being helped up.

"Spoilers," Chrono Spanner said in an amused sing-song tone.

"Oh, that's just cruel!" Ben whined. "Anyone who knows me knows I love spoilers!"

Chrono Spanner just chuckled before both he and Ben turned to see Rook walking towards them looking a little rough.

Indeed, Rook Blonko was covered in splotches of dirt, and had twigs and leaves sticking all over him. He was huffing and puffing, as if he'd been running for his life! Instantly, Ben was at his side helping to dust him off. "Blonko!" he cried. "What happened to you, babe?"

"I was attacked by squirrels!" Rook panted out. "I knew it! Squirrels pretend to be harmless," he added, "but they are just waiting to be mutated into muroid-like killers!"

Ben plucked a thorn from Rook's cheek, causing his fiance to wince in pain. Ben then quickly kissed it to make it feel better, earning a smile from his revonnahgander. "Pure coincidence," Ben explained, trying to ease Rook's fears. "I promise you that squirrels are normally quite peaceful and more afraid of you than you are of them. The only reason they mutated and attacked you was because of Animo."

Rook sighed and said, "I suppose you are right, Beloved." He then chuckled and added, "It seems we are evenly matched for ridiculous animal fears; your fear of peacocks, and my fear of squirrels."

Ben chuckled along with Rook before turning to the mysterious armored individual, and asked, "Okay, why are you helping Future-Animo?"

"Wait, how do you even know about him?" Chrono Spanner asked.

"It's kind of a long sotry. You see my cousin and I..." Ben started before shaking his head clear and exclaiming, "Wait!  _I'm_  the one asking questions here!"

Chrono Spanner sighed before saying, "I'm not with Animo. Believe me. Right now, though, you need to contact Lieutenant Steel, Ben."

"Lt. Steel?" Ben replied, frowning in confusion. "How do you even know him? I was, like, 10 when I first met him, and haven't spoken to him since!" Ben then added for Rook's sake, "We sorta had a rough first encounter. Kevin was taking on the forms of my aliens to commit crimes, so Steel tried to arrest me. He's kinda cold demeanored, but he makes for great back-up in a pinch."

Dialing up the lieutenant, Ben said, "Hey, Steel. It's your ole' pal Ben!"

"Tennyson?" a gruff voice responded. "I don't hear from you in years, and  _now_  you're calling me?"

Ben grinned and said, "Oh, you know me: busy saving the Earth every night before dinner-time."

"And causing a shit-load of environmental collateral damage," Steel all but growled before snorting out a laugh and saying, "You haven't changed a bit, kid. Glad to see you decided to dump the ruffian and find a half-decent man to keep you in line."

Ben pouted slightly while Rook simply chuckled and said, "I like this Lieutenant Steel of yours."

Of course, all levity ended when the sound of crashing blasted through the omnitrix's speakers.

_**-BRoken-** _

Gutrot, Chrono Spanner, Rook, and Steel's team watched with boredom as Animo fought with Animo.

"Uh, excuse me, but can we wrap this up any time now?" Gutrot called out. The two Animo's, however, either couldn't hear him over the sounds of their scuffle, or they were ignoring him.

"Time. That  _is_  the problem," Chrono Spanner said.

"Huh?" Ben said in confusion.

"I believe I understand you," Rook said before turning to Ben to explain. "Even if we defeat the Gorilla-Animo this time, he will keep coming back from the future until he succeeds."

"Unless you could, I don't know, make him forget what's happened?" Chrono Spanner suggested with a shrug.

"A blow to the head makes humans forget things," Rook supplied with an amused smile. "Especially when it is a wealthy person falling off a yacht."

Gutrot rubbed his head woefully and replied, "That's only in the movies, Babe. Humans are actually even more fragile and less clumsy than that. In real life, a knock to the head usually results in a concussion. To say nothing of how graceful super-wealthy people appear to be...when their sober, of course."

Rook blinked in surprise before frowning in commiserating sorrow and he said, "How unfortunate. Those poor actors."

Gutrot chuckled and said, "Trust me, if that kinda stuff worked, I'd have knocked every memory of  _him_  right outta my head!"

"Are you referring to your brief affair with Kevin Levin?" Chrono Spanner asked, causing all eyes to look at him.

"How do  _you_  know that?" Rook growled, his hackles raised.

"Now  _that_  would be telling," Chrono Spanner said, sounding as though coming from an uneasy grin. "Like I told Ben: spoilers."

"And as for you," Rook said in a reprimanding tone to Ben, "I do not want you to even  _think_  of harming yourself, even in a potentially comical way."

Gutrot blushed and looked away, pleased that Rook was still willing to help him fight the self-deprecating parts of himself. After a moment, Gutrot turned to Chrono Spanner and asked, "But...if Future-Animo is here, does that mean that the future he came from no longer exists? It doesn't make any sense."

"Time travel, Beloved. It never does," Rook said while shaking his head.

"But if someone had explained the situation clearly in the beginning..."Gutrot began before face-palming, realizing how he was now echoing Rook's attempt at explaining romantic comedies.

Rook noticed this, and with a mischievous grin he said in an almost mocking tone, "That is just not how the universe works, okay?"

At that point, the omnitrix timed out, and Ben moved over to wrap his arms around Rook's waist as he looked up at him with a fake annoyed face. "I'm  _really_  becoming a bad influence on you," he teased.

"As far as I am concerned," Rook replied, "You are the best influence a stiff revonnahgander like myself could have."

So wrapped up in each other, neither Rook nor Ben noticed Chrono Spanner leave with Future-Animo, and as the two returned home, Ben asked Rook, "I wonder what our future's gonna be like?"

_**-BRoken-** _

Chrono Spanner stood upon the roof of a building in present-day Bellwood, a holographic image being projected from his gauntlet. It was an image taken from the Rook-Tennyson wedding. Chrono Spanner smiled beneath his helmet and said in that same sing-song tone as before, "Spoilers."

* * *

**Episode 46: Rad Monster Party**

The Anur System was as creepy and monstrous as the beings that resided on it's planets and moons. Cobwebs big enough to be measured in AU's crisscrossed the expanse, and everything seemed to be hallowed by a dark purple ether. Overall, it was enough to make anyone uneasy.

The  _Lovely Duck_  glided seamlessly through it all, carrying three plumbers and a very spunky avian. Said avian had decided to humor Ben Tennyson with a game of 'Go Fish' while the ship's AI, Pyxi, handled navigation. "Your play,  _monkey_ ," Rad said, cool and collected as ever, and not the least bit put off by his ship's current location.

"Got any three's... _mallard_ ," Ben replied, the verbal return fire quite natural to him given how he and Gwen used to be.

Rad's expressionless face changed to a smug and insolent grin as he said, "Go fish."

Ben's brow twerked over so slightly when he felt an unspoken, but implied, ' _dumbass_ ' in the phrase.

The other two Plumber's that had come along on this mission were Ben's fiance, Rook, and the cowardly 'red-shirt' (as Ben had amusedly deemed him), Hobble. Hobble was starring out the forward viewport, wringing his hands, and whining about how imposing the star system looked.

"Hobble, you do not like anything," Rook said in a matter-of-fact way; it really wasn't an insult, it just was, and Hobble acknowledged that.

"Not  _entirely_  true," Hobble mumbled under his breath as he peaked at the  _Lovely Duck_ 's captain out of the corner of his eye, before saying out loud, "But it's the Anur System! Do we really have to fly through it?!"

"It is the quickest way to reach the Plumber rim-outposts in this sector of the galaxy," Rook reminded the small alien.

Not one to be deterred in his paranoia, Hobble replied, "Well, what about the monsters, hmm? I hear they eat brains!"

"Doubtful," Ben said. "Azmuth once told me that the consumption of brains was a Class A felony. Apparently it's a double whammy caused you murdered both an individual, and any current ideas that had yet been put to paper, or any possible future ideas. 'Thought-crime', he called it." He then grinned cheekily at Hobble and added, "Besides, the only way to spice up grey matter is with garlic, and we all know how much Transylians  _hate_ garlic."

Rook rolled his eyes and smiled. "Ben," he said in an almost reprimanding tone. For Hobble's sake, he really had to keep from laughing.

"Fear not, little  _Coo-ka-racha_ , I won't let anything hurt you," Rad said, sparring Hobble only the slightest of glances, and almost purring out the nickname. "I've even made deliveries here. No problem."

And that's when everything went to hell.

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben, Rook, and Hobble were waiting in the dark alley for Rad's signal. Hearing slight grunting from his fiance, Ben turned to look at Rook and blushed slightly, finding the revonnahgander standing on one foot while his other leg was pulled up to, and behind, his head. In some kind of yoga pose. Ben smirked and happily took in the sight as he asked, "Not that I don't think this position you're in is kinda erotic, but, what are you doing?"

"Stretching," Rook answered, daring not to give his Beloved any indication that his comment was creating pleasurable images in his head. "We have a long walk ahead of us, and according to the internet, yoga is an excellent way to prepare for  _any_  form of intense cardiac exercise." He then blushed despite himself and added, "Including sex."

Ben's grin grew wider at that, but returned to the matter at hand by saying, "Is that so? So I can look forward to seeing just how limber you are on our wedding night?" ' _Or sooner_ ,' he added silently.

Rook cleared his throat, and desperately shook away all the thoughts now running rampant in his head. " _That_  aside...for now...it would behoove you to do the same," he said, adding to himself, ' _And I would very much like to see how limber you are_.' "Besides, I am a precision athlete, and a law-enforcement operative; I treat my body as a temple."

Ben sauntered forward and ran his hands down the front of Rook's torso, a sultry grin plastered on his face. "So do I," he teased.

"Ehem, if you both are quite done," Rad Dudesman said in admonishment, causing the two to blush and pull away...but only just enough to walk side by side holding each others hand. Rad then lead the group down the now empty street, with Ben and Rook behind him, and Hobble taking up the rear. As the group walked, Ben was blissfully unaware of anything following them across the rooftops. He was however, painfully aware of a certain red-shirt tugging at the back of his shirt, and ruining his moment with Rook.

"What?" Ben asked, perhaps a little harshly.

"I, uh, need to go to the little aliens room," Hobble asked, nervously twiddling his fingers as he did.

Ben bowed his head in exasperation of the ridiculousness of this request. Honestly, Hobble should have relived himself back on Rad's ship before they left.

"Perhaps, Rad Dudesman could escort you back to his ship?" Rook suggested, seeing Ben's expression.

"'Escort' is my middle name," Rad said, pulling out a pistol, and pulling back on the round-loader, before stuffing it back in it's case. Hobble watched the duck twirl his gun with practiced feathers, and couldn't help the slight blush that formed when Rad's cool gaze, hidden behind sun-glasses, locked with his own eyes.

Ben sighed and said, "Fine, go!"

Ben and Rook made to start moving on when a faint snapping sound made Ben turn back around. Oddly enough, both Rad and Hobble were gone! "Wow, they're pretty fast," he said.

"Mr. Dudesman may be, but Hobble is not," Rook replied, disconcerted by their disappearance.

Ben snorted in amusement and said, "Great, just a like a horror film. Picking us off one by one before appearing before the only one who's gonna survive, just to tell them their maniacal plan!"

"Is that really how horror films work?" Rook asked before sighing and adding, "It is the romantic comedy all over again."

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben and Scout were in Scout's hideout, and about to leave for Kuphulu's base, when Ben stopped and asked, "Hey, Scout? Rook mentioned that the two of you had been dorm-mates back at Plumber Academy. He said you two were really close...and...I was wondering..." The question wasn't asked out of jealousy; Ben's sessions with Atris as well as these last few missions with Rook, had helped Ben come a long way. He trusted Rook.

Scout, though, was an unknown variable.

The loboan sighed and ducked his head as he answered, "I admit, I did have feelings for Blonko back at the Academy. But it was easy to see that the only person in the galaxy he had eyes for was you, Ben Tennyson."

Ben frowned in confusion and asked, "What do you mean?"

"At the Academy," Scout said, "we were all told of your heroic deeds. We spent half a whole year studying every alien you've been, every tactic you've used, every villain you've faced. By the time we graduate, we are all experts on Ben 10, and many of us can't help but idolize you." Scout smiled sadly and added, "But for Blonko, it was more than hero worship. He was amazed and impressed that a young human would be responsible enough to use a device like the Omnitrix for good, selfless reasons, rather than evil, selfish reasons."

Ben smiled at that. "Not for lack of trying," he said. "If it weren't for my family and friends, Blonko would be yours. I'm nothing special."

Scout's smile grew wider, but also sadder. "And  _that_  is why he loves you. Despite all your attempts at appearing otherwise, your self-confidence and ego are such fragile things. He wants more than anything else to be the one to show you how amazing you are."

As Scout spoke, Ben couldn't help but let a few tears of joy and love fall. "Thanks, Scout," he said around a sniffle, "that means a lot."

Scout nodded, understanding how Ben was feeling, and made to walk off. However, he froze mid-stride and turned to Ben, taking the few steps needed to be standing right before him. "Before we go, I would make a request of you."

Ben looked up at the loboan and replied, "Sure. What can I do for you?"

In response, Scout grabbed Ben's chin and tilted it up before quickly diving down to snatch a quick kiss. He pulled away before Ben had a chance to slap him, and, with a slight smirk, said, "Tell Blonko that if he's ever interested in a Beta to share his Omega with, I'm available."

_**-BRoken-** _

"Ghostfreak!" Ben exclaimed in shock and fear.

"Ben Tennyson! You remember me!" Ghostfreak mocked. "I'm flattered."

Ben frowned in fury as he hissed, "How could I forget. You possessed Gwen and threatened to jump off a balcony, to her death, unless I agreed to let you possess me."

"WHAT?!" Rook roared, having never heard of this. He glared murderously at the ectonurite; his pupils narrowing, and his claws slowly elongating.

With a mad grin, Ghostfreak said, "This is going to be quite the reunion! Why, look who else you brought to the party." He then motioned to the shadows within the  _Lovely Duck_ 's cargo bay which parted as a bulky figure stepped forward.

"Doctor Victor?!" Ben exclaimed.

"Indeed! The Terrible Trio, reunited," Ghostfreak gloated.

Seeing his Beloved crippled by fear, Rook moved Ben behind him. "This reunion ends now, Zs'Skayr" the revonnahgander growled.

Ghostfreak, or rather, Zs'Skayr, chuckled darkly. "Oh, no. It's just the beginning! Attack!"

Rook quickly found himself facing off against a rampaging Dr. Victor, and was forced to push Ben away to keep him from getting trampled.

Hobble cowered behind Rad as he took on Crujo. "How'd we get the wolf-man?!" Hobble squeaked in fear, almost clinging to Rad.

"It's no problem, Little  _Coo-ka-racha_ ," Rad said, as he stood his ground and fired.

Ben, meanwhile, was forced to face off against Zs'Skayr himself. Ben was split down the middle, emotions wise. He hated Ghostfreak with a blind passion for all that he'd tried to do, but he feared the ectonurite more than he feared clowns.

"So you lost the osmosian halfling and took a revonnahgander as your new lover," Zs'Skayr mocked. "Do you really think you'll satisfy him? I'm certain that after a year or two, he'll tire of you, just as Levin did. After all, he has no future with you, as you cannot carry a child for him."

Ben clenched his teeth, hissing out a, "Shut Up!" So he and Rook couldn't have a child of their own! So what? He and Rook could adopt!

"And to add insult to injury," Zs'Skayr continued undeterred, "it seems the loboan and your fiance fight better together. So fluid in their movements." Zs'Skayr cackled in delight as Ben paused and caught a glimpse of the two, and become disheartened at seeing the truth in his words. Zs'Skayr then went in for the final blow, but stopped dead in his tracks when Ben looked up at him with a determined grin.

"If you think  _that's_  fluid, wait till you see Rook and I," Ben said before activating the Omnitrix and turning into Feedback. Without a word, Rook shot out charging cables from his Proto-Tool to connect to Feedback's head tendril's and tail. Zs'Skayr was caught completely off-guard when Feedback then hit him with a strong electrical shock.

_**-BRoken-** _

Things weren't looking too good for the Plumbers with the angry mob closing in on them. Zs'Skayr and Crujo used it to their advantage to get away. But Ben, Rook, Rad, and Hobble were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Before the mob could start poking any of them with pitchforks, Scout stepped forward and yelled, "Friends! Hear me! I know this human looks different from us, but consider for a moment what  _we_  must look like to _him_! It is all too easy to judge a thing on the way it appears on the outside. Yes, to us he may look disgusting and ugly, but on the planet he is from, Ben Tennyson is considered quite attractive and desirable!"

"Indeed you are, Beloved," Rook whispered into Ben's ear, startling him slightly. Seeing that it was his fiance, though, Ben wrapped an arm around Rook's waste and pulled tight. If Scout's words failed, he wanted to die in Rook's arms.

"Look at how the revonnahgander see's past the human's appearance, to the soul within!" Continued, causing stares to shift back and forth between himself and the couple. "See how there love shines through! They both risk much in their respective societies by being with each other. If they can do it, why can't we?" Scout then gave both Ben and Rook a look that clearly said, ' _Get on with it!_ " Ben smiled before looking up at Rook and silently asking for a kiss. Rook obliged whole-heartedly.

Never minding that the kiss was meant for show to appease the on-lookers, Ben and Rook started slow and chaste but quickly adding a few playful nips just to spice it up. Scout watched closely, hoping to imprint this image in his memory for the lonelier nights. The crowd seemed to be split between coo-ing at the loving couple, and awkwardly looking away.

It wasn't until they were all alone in the courtyard that they broke apart. Rook smiled down at his emerald-eyed love and said, "I do believe we made our point."

Ben chuckled and replied, "Who knew the two of us would turn out to be such exhibitionists."

"Exhibitionist?" Rook asked, confused.

Ben blushed and answered with an awkward, "Later."

The two then made their way back inside the  _Lovely Duck_  to install the variable G-offset modulator.

"So, what do you think of Scout?" Rook asked.

Ben's blush deepened as he stuttered out, "W-well, he's a...great fighter...great public speaker...great k-kisser."

All eyes shot to look at Ben at this. Even Rad's normally cool exterior seemed to nearly shatter with astonishment. Rook, though, got in Ben's face, incredulous and jealous, and exclaimed, "He kissed you?!"

"Y-y-yeah...he also suggested...that...you might sh-share me...with him," Ben squeeked, suddenly not so sure he should have told Rook this, despite Atris and Rook telling him many times that he shouldn't be afraid to hide things just because they might endanger the relationship.

Rook roared in fury, causing Ben to jump back, startled, trip on a seam in the deck plating, and fall on his butt. The variable G-offset modulator promptly popped out of Ben's front pocket and fell to the ground, shattering into dozens of pieces.

Everyone's eyes were fixated on Rook, not Ben, as it was  _his_  reaction that resulted in their only ticket home suddenly shattering.

"Uhhh..." Rook rubbed the back of his head mortified, a vivid blush on his cheeks as Ben frowned at him. Stepping back from Ben to give him space, ashamed of his actions, Rook said, "I...don't know what came over me...sorry, Rad Dudesman."

"Hold me back, Ben!" Rad quaked out angrily.

**END VOLUME XII**


	17. Intermission 5: Prize Fic for Jessica499499

"One-oh-one," Ben said aloud, reading the thermometer he'd just pulled from Rook's mouth. "It's official: you have a cold."

At this Rook sneezed violently before taking a wad of tissue to his nose and blowing. Ben couldn't help but giggle at how utterly undignified his partner looked. The usually proud revonnahgander was now reduced to a sniveling, sneezing lump of misery. Lucky for him, though, Ben knew just what to do. He'd hurried over to Rook's apartment to find the revonnahgander lying in bed, carrying with him two extra blankets and pillows as well as a large tupperware container of soup.

"I do not understand," Rook said, his voice distorted by his swollen nasal passages, "I have  _always_  practiced good-hygiene. It is simply impossible for me to have gotten a cold!"

"You're forgetting one thing, Rook," Ben replied with a teasing smile.

Rook frowned, and in an incensed tone asked, "And what, exactly, would that be?"

"You're not from Earth," Ben answered. "According to Grandpa Max, most aliens usually get sick within the first month of their being here. Your body doesn't have the necessary immunities to combat our native bacteria and viruses. The only reason you didn't get sick at the Plumber's Academy is because it's a freaking space station; a totally sterile environment."

Rook pouted and turned away from Ben. Ben just rolled his eyes and smiled in understanding. Rook was used to watching out for Ben, and pulling his butt out of trouble. Now that the shoe was on the other foot, and not by choice, Rook felt lost...out of his element.

"Rook, don't sweat it," Ben. "I am gonna do whatever it takes to make you feel more comfortable. I'll make you chicken noodle soup, I'll give you a quiet space to rest, and I'll keep you well supplied with tissue and cold medicine."

"Thank you, Ben," Rook said with a smile, unable to stop the blush that rose to his face. The undivided attention and care Ben was displaying was quite nice, and felt a bit beyond the role of a work partner and friend.

Of course, he could have just been over analyzing the human's intent.

Rook's thoughts were then interrupted by his stomach grumbling ever so slightly, causing Ben to chuckle at yet another mark against Rook's former dignified visage.

With a grin, Ben exited the bedroom and made his way over to the small kitchen. He pulled the tupperware he'd brought and poured it into a pot which he then placed on the stove. Setting it to a low temperature, he gave the soup ten minutes to re-heat before brandishing a ladle and scooping out some soup into a bowl.

Bowl of soup in hand, Ben proceeded back to the bedroom to find that Rook had managed to sit himself up.

When Rook saw that Ben had neglected to use the bed tray, Rook gently admonished, "Ben, did I not tell you where the bed tray could be found?"

Ben grinned impishly before scoffing and replying, "I will be feeding you myself, as you are sick and need to be taken care of."

Rook rolled his eyes at the childishness of it all, thinking Ben was joking and would go back and get the bed tray. However, when Ben sat with the bowl of soup in his lap and brought a spoonful to Rook's lips expectantly, Rook knew this was not a joke. "Ben," he chastised, "I am not an invalid. I am very much capable of feeding myself."

"Ah, ah, ah, I will hear none of it," Ben answered imperiously. "I will feed you myself, and that is final. The Savior of the Galaxy has spoken!"

Rook raised a single brow, but acquiesced. Opening his mouth, he gladly accepted the spoonful of chicken noodle.

_**-BRoken-** _

Unbeknownst to Rook, though, Ben had a reason for his treatment of Rook. About a week after first meeting the revonnahgander, Ben realized he was developing a crush on his partner. After all, how could he not? Rook was always calm, cool, and collected, even in the most trying of circumstances. He helped keep Ben's head level, and didn't mind one bit how silly Ben could behave at times.

Not to mention, Rook Blonko was drop-dead gorgeous!

And so when Ben got the call from Rook that he was ill, Ben figured that this would be as good a time as any to slowly ease Rook into seeing just how much affection Ben felt towards him. And so far, it seemed to be working.

As the day wore on, Ben volunteered himself towards any and every task aimed at making Rook as comfortable as possible, including a back massage that left Rook a purring mess. Ben even went so far as to brush Rook's fur, which Rook had nearly drawn the line at, but allowed in the end due in part to the sad face Ben made.

When the day came to a close, and Ben made to leave for the day, Rook was saddened to see his friend go...perhaps more than he should have. And when Ben's farewell included a far too casual, "Love ya!" Rook began to feel that a puzzle had just been laid in front of him, and that if he could just put all the pieces together he would be handsomely rewarded.

_**-BRoken-** _

Over the next three days Ben and Rook continued a habit of Ben coming over to Rook's apartment in the morning and staying with him the entire day. During that time, they got to know each other more and more. They both shared more of their history, as well as their personality. Rook enjoyed how easy and comfortable this companionship was. Back on Revonnah, everyone was so stuffy and formal; their dedication to tradition left practically no surprises in the equation.

Maybe he had indeed become corrupted by Earth ways, but that lack of uncertainty was no longer appealing. He enjoyed the risk he was taking in getting closer and closer to Ben. Their friendship and camaraderie were quickly evolving into something else...something impossible, but that seemed to fit the pieces of his puzzle.

And so, on the fourth day, when Ben came over to Rook's apartment, the young human was surprised to find Rook up and at 'em.

"Looks like your immune system finally got the message," Ben teased.

"Indeed," Rook answered with an easy smile. "I was about to report for duty."

"Don't bother," Ben said with a conspiratorial grin, "I already told Grandpa Max to give you till the end of the week."

Rook smirked and sound in a mock reproachful tone, "Ben..."

"What?" Ben cried, blushing a little. "I didn't know how much time you needed to get better, and I was having fun taking care of you..."

A single brow rose on Rook's face. "You enjoyed taking care of me?"

Ben's blush deepened as he said, "Um, well, yeah. I mean, you're my best friend, and my partner, and we got to spend a lot of off-the-clock time with each other and-"

"I enjoyed our time together as well," Rook said, cutting Ben off. He began to slowly walk toward Ben, as though moving cautiously towards a skittish animal. "In fact, this time we've spent together has made me see things differently."

"Uh, what kinds of things?" Ben asked, unconsciously stepping back.

"Us," Rook answered simply. "Our friendship...our working relationship...perhaps the possibility of something more."

"More?" Ben asked, not willing to believe his ears.

By this point, Rook had managed to back Ben up into a corner. Ben had nowhere to go as Rook reached out and gently lifted Ben's chin up, forcing them to look each other in the eye. As Rook began to lower his lips upon Ben's, Ben began to realize this was no dream...his dreams never made it this far! And when their lips finally met, it was such a soft and fleeting sensation, like a feather being lightly brushed against your skin.

When Rook pulled back, Ben found himself unconsciously moving forward, desperate not to lose contact. Rook chuckled before saying, "I am pleased I did not misinterpret your signs."

"I'm just pleased my plan actually worked," Ben replied. "Now can we kiss some more?"

**END INTERMISSION**


	18. Volume XIII

**Episode 47: Charmed, I'm Sure**

For the record, Ben Tennyson does  _not_  scream like a girl. With that said, though, Ben would be the first to admit that he could be loud enough to wake the dead. And between finding a large angry zit on his face, and having Charmcaster appear right behind him in the bathroom, his horrified scream's were sure to have caught the attention of every sentient on Anur-Transyl. As a result, Rook came rushing to the bathroom, Proto-Tool armed and ready.

Rook froze as a small, raggedy purse made to look like a face was shoved into his while the young woman holding it up said, "You know him?" Charmcaster asked her purse in surprise. "Ohhh, so  _this_ is Levin's replacement. Never cared for the ruffian; even worse manners than Ben's."

Deciding to leave the young woman to her monologue, Rook looked over to Ben and went wide-eyed. Marring his usually handsome face six large, angry zits each about an inch in diameter. "GREAT AMBER-OGIA!" Rook exclaimed. "Charmcaster has put a spell on you!"

Ben rolled his eyes and replied, "It's not a spell it's... _really_  bad acne." He then promptly turned to face the mirror and screamed. "What the hell is this?! Just a minute ago there was only one! And how do you know Charmcaster?"

"Gwen warned me of her," Rook explained, keeping a suspicious eye on Charmcaster, as though expecting her to attack. "According to Gwen, the dimensional barrier between Ledgerdomain and the Anur star system is unusually weak. As a result, the evolution of life in this star system was shaped by minute traces of magic that leaked through. It is possible that the same magical energies are affecting you."

"So what  _did_  happen between them?" Charmcaster asked her purse, causing both young men to give her their full attention. "Wow, that is  _way_  worse than what Michael did to me. ...Don't tell me to shut up! ...How was I supposed to know it was still a sore subject? ...They still have issues?" Charmcaster glanced at Ben with something almost like pity before returning her attention to her purse. "...Well, I hate to say it, but if that's the case then Ben shouldn't have rushed into an engagement with Rook"

Rook growled at this while Ben cringed; hadn't he asked himself the same thing weeks ago? Between Atris and Kai, he'd managed to rid himself of any more such thoughts, but hearing an outsider say it somehow made it ring true.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Charmcaster said, very aware of of the furious look Rook was aiming at her. "Sheesh, you'd think I was being  _offensive_  or something. ...Oh please, the concept of soul-mates isn't lost on me, I'm just saying it's sudden!"

Seeing that the albino witch was once again lost in conversation with her purse, Ben latched on to Rook's right forearm and tugged slightly, silently suggesting that they leave the crazy witch to her imaginary friend. Charmcaster, however, saw them and, in a deep mocking voice, said, "Yes, let's get going! WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIM E!"

Upon entering the cargo bay, Ben and Rook lead Charmcaster over to Scout, Rad, and Hobble who were hard at work trying to build a new variable G-offset modulator from scratch. As they drew near, Rad growled out, "Keep your cat on a leash, Tennyson, and away from me."

Ben would have found this highly amusing were the situation not dire, though the look on Rook's face was definitely a kodak moment. "Come on, Rad," Ben pleaded, "he said he was sorry."

Rad's response was to shoot Ben a pointed look before returning to his work.

"It is alright, Beloved," Rook said. "Captain Dudesman is in his right to shun me. My jealous and protective tendencies," at this he shot a glare at Scout who simply smirked before returning to his work, "got the better of me."

"Yeah, can you believe it?" Charmcaster asked her purse. "I mean, a dog and a cat fighting over the same human?! Doesn't that go against nature? ...I am not going to throw myself at the dog to throw him off Ben's and Rook's scents! ...Oh yeah? Well then why don't you do it yourself?"

At this, all eyes (especially Scout's) zoned in on Charmcaster. None of the Plumbers were sure whether to be horrified that Charmcaster was talking to an imaginary friend, or scandalized that Charmcaster's imaginary friend was apparently suggesting she flirt with Scout to keep him from ruining Ben's and Rook's relationship. "Now, we've wasted enough time, Tennyson. Zs'Skayr is within your reach and I can help you defeat him! So, can we _please_  go?!"

Ben frowned and replied, "Even if I thought for s  _second_ that you could be trusted enough to help me, I can't leave this ship."

"And why is that?" Charmcaster asked.

As an answer, Ben walked to the ship's threshold, at the top of the boarding ramp, and held out his arms as overly-ripe produce was thrown at him, causing quite the mess on his shirt and pants. He then walked back in to face Charmcaster and said, "That's why."

Charmcaster gave Ben a blank look before hovering off the ground and eerily chanting an incantation. Outside the  _Lovely Duck_ , the sky exploded with fireworks, which lead the nearby mob miles away from the ship. "Now," she said, as she planted her feet back on the ground, "are you coming with me to defeat Zs'Skayr once and for all, or what?"

In the end, Rook and Ben went with Charmcaster, along with Hobble. Charmcaster insisted on his presence ("He amuses us...and we might need bait.") It took a good deal of encouragement from Rad for Hobble to willingly leave the azure duck's side.

The group was then scurrying, hurrying and sprinting across the streets of Anur Transyl in an effort NOT to be seen by the xenophobic inhabitants of the planet. But as they went from one corner to the next, Ben was inadvertently knocked out from one corner and out onto the sidewalk, startled to see three teenage transylians hanging out under a lamp-post.

Ben winced, expecting the three transylians (a thep khufan, a loboan and a transylian; all male) to start shouting and throwing stuff at him.

But Ben was immensely surprised when instead, the transylian gave him a long suggestive look from head to foot, as if appraising Ben. Then, the transylian tilted the feather-capped hat on his head forward, as if to give him a suave look, and winked at Ben.

"Sup?"

The loboan gave a toothy smirk at Ben as well, "Hey, sexy Omega. How'd you'd like to go find a patch of wolfsbane, and I'll show you how a  _real_  Alpha does it?" The loboan then gave a lusty howl to the moon as if trying to impress Ben.

The thep khufan silently stared at Ben, but was aware of it's bandages loosening and forming into a tightly bound rope. While another bandage, it formed a loop, and the rope rod was thrust back and forth through the loop suggestively.

Ben was more than a little weirded out by this, but took it as a compliment...till he looked down into the puddle at his feet and saw his face.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ben screamed in horror, his face was even worse than before, and that was saying something.

"AHHHHH!" Hobble screamed in unison, startling the three would be suitors into running away in fear.

Wait..." Hobble look confused. "What are we screaming about?"

"Oh my god, I'm  _hideous_!" Ben sobbed into his hands, a tad over-dramatically.

"Beloved, you're being overly sensitive," Rook said to comfort his fiance as he walked over to him.

"HOW SO, ROOK?!" Ben turns to face Rook, earning a slight wince from seeing Ben's pimply face. "I'VE GOT A FACE THAT'S ABOUT TO EXPLODE LIKE A VOLCANO!"

Despite Ben's frantic behavior, Rook rolled his eyes and grumbled, "I did not hear any complaints from the transylian, loboan, or thep khufan."

"That's because I look like a monster," Ben moped with a downcast glance, though it was tilted upwards by Rook, who then sealed Ben's lips with his own in a soft kiss.

As Ben's lips responded, Rook gently nipped Ben's lower lip in admonishment before pulling away and saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Beloved." Resting his forehead against Ben's. "And I see more beauty in your eyes and in your heart than there are stars in this galaxy alone."

Ben snorted in amusement and replied, "Okay, you can cut the sweet, romantic, understanding boyfriend act, Blonko." He starred into the revonnahgander's eyes, his own no longer holding a trace of the former dejection from moments ago. "I get it. No more self-pity," he said before smirking and adding, "...At least until the next blow to my ego."

Rook grinned and replied, "There's my Beloved."

They both were interrupted by the sounds of retching. Charmcaster was apparently not very fond of the moment they were having.

Rook sighed and turned to Ben once more with a mischievous look. "At any rate, there is one good thing that has come out of this. You can now walk amongst these people as if you were one of them."

Ben rolled his eyes and replied, "Laugh it up fuzzball. We'll see how much you're laughing when I let Scout map out my new facial terrain with his tongue."

Before Rook could fire back another quip, Charmcaster giggled and said, "You two appear to have an audience." She then pointed to a young transylian girl who they hadn't heard coming.

Ben looked down and saw the cutest little Franken-girl he'd ever seen. She looked to be about six years old, and was wearing a pink dress. Her eyes were pink as well. Despite her patch-work skin, Ben's maternal instincts that had only shown up with Jimmy Jones, and his necrofriggian offspring, flared once more. He knelt down next to her and smiled, saying, "Hi there. What's your name?"

"Victoria," she answered a little shyly.

"That's a pretty name," Ben replied. "Where are your parents, Victoria? You really shouldn't be out here alone."

Victoria looked down and sniffled. "I was playing hide-and-seek with my friends. My mommy and daddy told me not to wander too far from our street. I tried to stay on our street, but I was having so much fun, and now I'm lost." As she spoke, her voice become more sad, so that by the end she was crying.

Ben quickly gathered Victoria into his arms and cradled her. "Shhh, shhh, everything's gonna be okay. We'll get you home."

A pair of teary pink eyes looked up at him as a mousy voice squeaked, "Promise?"

"Promise," Ben replied.

Rook watched this exchange with a smile. Ben was a natural with children...even alien children. It pulled at his heart to see his Beloved comfort the lost little transylian as if she were his own.

With Victoria cradled in his arms, Ben stood up and turned to Charmcaster with a determined face. "Can you cast a spell to help us find her home?"

"Pff, of course I can! I'm not the ruler of Ledgerdomain for nothing!" she scoffed.

Ben looked at her expectantly when she did nothing. "Well?" he asked.

"Unhhh! Are you  _serious_?!" Charmcaster exclaimed. "We don't have time for this!" After a breath her eyes went wide and she brought her purse up to her face. "Are you really suggesting I help them? ...Every moment we waste on romantic drivel and lost girls, Zs'Skayr is getting more and more powerful. ...Fiiiine." She then closed her eyes and chanted, " _Emohs lrigsiht o tyawe htsu wohs_!" A circle made of light then appeared at Charmcaster's feet, with an arrow-head pointing to their left. "This way," she said unenthusiastically.

_**-BRoken-** _

After returning Victoria to her home, much to the thanks of her parents, Ben and the gang followed Charmcaster to Zs'Skayr's castle (whimsically named 'Zs'Castle Zs'Skayr'). As they made to cross the castle's pumpkin patch, it's multitude of scarecrows came alive and began to attack them. After blasting open a path for them, Ben, in the form of Swampfire, made a mad dash for the castle.

"Oh, what? The great Ben Tennyson running away from a fight?!" Charmcaster yelled at him.

"Hey, I'm not running away!" Swampfire snapped in defense. "We were trying to get to the castle in the first place!"

Charmcaster pouted as she listened to her purse say something before looking down at it. "I know, right? First time he's right," she quipped.

"I heard that!" Swampfire yelled.

The gang rushed to the entrance of the castle as Charmcaster used her magic to begin closing the teeth-like gates, shearing the few scarecrows that tried to cross it. For good measure, Charmcaster held out her purse, allowing the finger that was now sticking out of it to zap the entrails into ash for good measure.

"What do you have in that purse anyway?" Rook quizzically asked Charmcaster a moment later.

With a smug grin, she answered, "What? You don't already know?" The look she was giving him made Rook feel as though he really should know that answer to his question.

Hobble huffed and puffed, trying to catch his breath. As he did, he moaned out, "Oh, I wish Rad had been here."

Apparently, her purse made a comment about this, because Charmcaster then giggled and said, "Yeah, how pathetic to rely on a duck to save you. It is kinda sweet, though."

"Yeah, that's our Hobble," Ben said after returning to his normal form, "sweet and pathetic."

"Ben..." Rook spoke up.

"Oh, come on, Rook. You're thinking the same..." Ben stopped, however, when he noticed Rook pointing down at the little Transylian girl from before...Victoria. She was simply standing there, latched on to his pants leg, and smiling ever so sweetly.

"Victoria?!" Ben exclaimed. "How did you..." Ben said, utterly flabbergasted.

"My mommy and daddy wanted to thank you for getting me back home," she answered shyly.

"They already thanked me, Victoria." Ben said, giving Victoria a serious frown. "And it's way too dangerous for you to be here." Gesturing at the castle interior around them, he said, "I mean, you  _do_  know who's castle this is, right?"

This didn't seem to phase the transylian girl at all. Instead, she began asking Ben about his favorite food, color, and the like. Finally, Rook stepped in to intervene, cautiously moving closer to both Ben and Victoria in the hopes of not spooking the girl. "Miss Victoria," he started.

"Are you his boyfriend?" Victoria asked cheerfully, not at all frightened or disgusted by Rook.

Rook was surprised, and nodded dumbly at the question, having not expected it.

"That's so cute! What's your last name?" Victoria then asked.

"Uh...Rook," the revonnahgander answered.

"Awww, Ben Rook-Tennyson," Victoria giggled.

Ben could only give Rook an amused glance, knowing that, as Young One had once pointed out, his name would actually be 'Rook Ben Tennyson'.

"Miss Victoria," Rook tried again, a bit more sternly (almost like a parent), "you must get home. It is not safe here."

"But the door's locked!" Victoria pouted, grabbing onto Ben's hand as she looked up at him pleadingly. "Can I stay with you, Mr. Rook-Tennyson? Pleeeeease?"

Ben felt compelled to cave in (those big watery eyes could melt the coldest heart), but his maternal concern for the child won out. He would not allow this sweet little girl to be put in harm's way. Shaking his head in the negative, he said, "I'm sorry, Victoria, but it's just too dangerous. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you." Seeing how downtrodden she was at these words, though, Ben sighed, smiling ruefully, and said, "How about this, Vicki: I'm gonna be here on Anur-Transyl for while. How about you go home, and after all this craziness is over, Blonko and I will come visit?"

Victoria smiled at this and nodded, agreeing to the deal.

"Atta'girl," Ben said as he picked her up and swung her around. "Now, let's get you home."

"Ugh, again?! Really?! And what is it with you and kids?" Charmcaster asked, receiving a pinch on her hand from the hand inside her purse for her trouble. "Ouch! Okay, okay, fine! But I am not lifting another finger for this girl.  _You_  do it!"

The purse (or whatever was in it) agreed, and the hand once again popped out before zapping Victoria home. Charmcaster then found herself being glared at by three Plumbers. "What?" she asked.

"You could've had your purse teleport us this whole time?!" Ben exclaimed in fury while Rook simply glared at Charmcaster for all the danger they had to wade through just to get here.

"Uh, I couldn't teleport us  _all_. I'm low on power. And my friend would've had to do us one at a time; I'd have to leave her behind!" Charmcaster replied, as she cooed at her purse and stroked it lovingly.

_**-BRoken-** _

Wandering the castle, they found an Escher room, as well as a door guarded by two creepy ectonurite girls. Finally, they came to a mirror which reflected monstrous version of themselves. Ben was put off this his face was apparently monstrous enough to show itself exactly as it was in the mirror, but whistled tartly at Rook's loboan reflection.

"Not a bad look for you, Blonko," Ben teased.

"So long as  _that_  is the only loboan you look at in that way," Rook teased back.

Charmcaster rolled her eyes in a good-natured way as she studied her thep khufan reflection.

Once they were each done with the mirror, they walked away.

There reflections did not.

After the ensuing fight with the monster reflections, and the short-lived confrontation with Zs'Skayr, the four found themselves outside, once more surrounded by scarecrows. Using the alpha rune and a few of her golems, Charmcaster created a nice bit of armor for herself before attacking the Plumbers.

"It is not so awesome now, is it?" Rook grumbled at his beloved for being so impressed with Charmcaster's armored form, despite having used her new powers to attack them.

"No...," Swampfire admitted reluctantly, "it's still pretty awesome."

A sharp whistling was all the warning they got before Swampfire was struck by a bolt of energy. As he toppled back, Rook roared in fury and took aim at the enchantress with his Proto-Tool. "NOBODY ATTACKS MY HEART'S FLAME AND WALKS AWAY UNSCATHED!"

His shots, unfortunately had no affect; the armor easily deflecting it. To add the to his distress, the pumpkin-headed scarecrows were dog-piling his beloved just as the Omnitrix timed out.

"BEN!" Rook cried.

"Awww, did your boyfriend ge squashed by the squash?" Charmcaster mockingly cooed. She held up a single hand, the magic swirling around it glowing magenta, and readied a blast of energy to reunite the two lovers in the afterlife. "Don't worry, Blonko. You'll see him soon enough.

Suddenly, the pile of pumpkins exploded with a blast of green light, before revealing a single figure standing proudly in the middle. It was Swampfire...or rather, a much stronger, more impressive version of Swampfire. His build was a bit bigger and stronger, and his skin was a lighter shade of green. His head seemed to have bloomed, as a tall green collar framed the yellow, red, and orange face within.

"Whoa!" Swampfire exclaimed in surprise. "What am I? In season?"

"Bralla-Da!" Rook sighed in relief. "You will be the death of me, Benjamin Kirby Tennyson!"

Swampfire chuckled and replied, "Par for the course? All these near-death experiences are just part of the fun that is me."

Rook's response was cut off by the scarecrows screeching in fury, preparing to, once again, take down the methanosian. Just as they made to move, though, Swampfire exclaimed in irritation, "Oh come on! Give it a rest already!"

And they did! As a single unit, every scarecrow in the field halted all movement.

"Who with the what now?" Swampfire said in surprise and confusion, tilting his head slightly.

"It appears you new form has given you command over them," Rook said, before lurching forward and crying out in pain. Swampfire managed to catch him just in time, and saw the scorch mark on his back. Turning murderous eyes to Charmcaster who was smirking nastily, he quickly raised his hand, summoning a vast wall of thick vines between the Plumbers and Charmcaster.

"Is he okay?" Hobble fretted, coming over to Rook's side.

"Just barely," Swampfire growled. "That bitch is  _so_  going to pay for this; now it's  _personal_!"

"Didn't she constantly attack your cousin through emotional and mystical threats?" Hobble asked,

"Yeah, and I love Gwen to death, but she's not my fiance."

All of a sudden, a hole was blasted through the wall of vines, allowing Charmcaster to step through. "Really, Ben?" she said. "Now you decide to take my seriously? I guess she was right; you're only dangerous when provoked."

Swampfire's eyes narrowed and darkened as rage flooded his senses. "Damn right I am," he hissed. "TEAR HER LIMB FROM LIMB!"

At his cry, all the scarecrows turned to Charmcaster, who suddenly felt  _very_  outnumbered. And like a sea of ants emerging from an ant-hill to attack an intruder with ruthless abandon, so too did the scarecrows; feeding off the rage coming from their commander. Charmcaster shot off volleys of energy blasts, but there were so many of them, and she was quickly running out of power. Eventually she was over-run, and she screamed as the scarecrows began chomping away at her armor.

But Swampfire wasn't paying attention to anything but Rook. "Come on, Blonko...please wake up," he said, shaking his fiance lightly as he did.

"U _nhh_ ," Rook finally groaned. "Ben?"

"Blonko?" Swampfire asked, uncertainly. Seeing his favorite pair of yellow and orange eyes starring back at him, though, Swampfire smiled and exclaimed, "Blonko!" He quickly helped the revonnahgander to sit up before Charmcaster's terrified screams brought both their eyes to her.

Rook's eyes went wide, realizing that his beloved had done this, and all because Charmcaster had hurt him! At once, he was both terrified and touched. It seemed Ben had his own 'feral' side. Much like his own, however, it needed to be tamed. And so, grabbing Swampfire's head with both his hand's, Rook forced the methanosian to look at him. "Ben," he said, "stop this. I am alive and well, and I fear what those scarecrows might do!"

Swampfire turned to look once more at what he'd wrought, and found himself horrified by it...as well as just an inkling of smug righteousness and pride. However, with a wave of his hands, he called off his pumpkin-headed minions, silently commanding them to return to their stations around the field. The three Plumbers were pleased to see, however, that the scarecrows had caused a significant amount of damage to her armor, which was now crumbling off her.

"No...no, no, no!" Charmcaster screamed. "I was so close!"

"And yet," a familiar female voice echoed across the field, "so very,  _very_  far."

Everyone watched, stunned, as Charmcaster's purse opened it's mouth wide, allowing a human woman with long, wavy, raven-black hair to step out. Clothed in a skin-tight, backless and sleeveless, ankle-length dark violet gown, the woman smirked as she said, "And if you had kept your eye on the ball and not gotten delusions of grandeur, you would not be here."

" _Ma'jun_?!" Rook exclaimed, recognizing the natural form of his godmother.

"I'll be with you in just a moment, love," Vanessa said, before returning her attention to Charmcaster. "Now, I gave you a chance to avenge the theft of the Alpha Rune, and to prove yourself a far better ruler of Ledgerdomain than your father and your uncle. And what did you do? You squandered it on a last ditch effort against a former enemy. Not to mention your unholy alliance with that damned geochelone aerio." Vanessa then summoned two small figurines from within the purse. "How naïve are you, really?"

"The what?" Ben whispered to Rook.

" _Geochelone Aerio_ ; your Terraspin form," Rook answered.

Charmcaster's eyes went wide, terrified of what would happened to her now. "P-please, Vanessa! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean-"

"To get caught?" Vanessa finished, smiling sadly. "I know. Maybe if you had actually managed to fool me I wouldn't be nearly as upset. Sadly, though, I must punish you...just as your friend, Adwaita, has been punished." And with that, the conversation was over, and Charmcaster was reduced to a small stone figurine. It all happened in the blink of an eye, which disappointed Ben to a degree.

"So, wait...Charmcaster was allied with that magical Terraspin Gwen and I encountered last year?" Ben asked.

"I'm afraid so," Vanessa answered, walking up to the three Plumbers. "As for the other in her possession...I'm not quite sure who they are. Can't be anyone good, though." Shaking herself of the dismal thoughts of Charmcaster's betrayal she looked to Ben with a smirk and said, "Now, to business. First of all, let me congratulate you for finally growing a pair and avenging your fiance. I do so love a mate that's willing to spill blood in a little game of revenge. That said, on to item number two: at your earliest convenience, I highly recommend you seek out that galilean therapist of yours and have her help you through your new-found rage problems."

* * *

**Episode 48: The Vampire Strikes Back**

"Are we all set?" Rook asked Rad, who had just finished taping a panel into place. After three very uncomfortable days on the monster planet of Anur-Transyl, the  _Lovely Duck_  and her crew were ready to leave. However, tensions between Rad and Blonko were still fairly high despite a great deal of pleading from both Hobble and Ben. Even Vanessa, who graced the ship with her presence after dealing with Charmcaster, had attempted to win back Rad's favor for Rook. The sorceress got her own name put down on Rad's shit-list for her trouble.

"Do not talk," Rad snapped before taking his seat in the pilot's chair.

Hobble, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, leaned over to give Rad a pleading look and a light touch on his feathered hand/wing. "Don't you think it's unhealthy to hold grudges, Rad?" he asked in a whisper.

"No," Rad grumbled, though he did not pull away from his  _little cucaracha_ 's touch. If nothing else, he'd at least found a sweet little piece of ass to claim for himself. Despite being an utter coward, Hobble was still pretty funny. And it sent a chauvinistic thrill to Rad to save his damsel-in-distress.

"Come on, Blonko," Ben said, as he made to leave the cockpit. It was obvious that Rad wasn't going to forgive Rook for a long time. So, they made their way to the common room of the crew quarters as the ship took off.

"Ugh, my head is throbbing," said Vanessa, who was sitting in a lounge chair in the common room. "Why did I even bother conjuring a new varying geo-whatchamacallit for that damn duck when he's still going to give my baby the evil eye!"

"You gonna be okay?" Ben asked while Rook pulled a blanket from the cabinet to spread across his  _ma'jun_. Despite Vanessa being a mean mother-in-law figure in Ben's life, he still cared for her since she was family.

"She is stronger than she looks, Beloved," Blonko said with a smile to Ben, and a wink to Vanessa.

Vanessa chuckled and replied, "Damn right. Just need a little rest to recharge my mana. Summoning and transfiguring are one thing, boys, but conjuring is a whole other thing. It takes energy, concentration, and will-power, and I've expended my reserves on all three." She then frowned and grumbled, "Damn Dark One's influence. I'll need you two to keep an eye on me while I rest, savvy?"

Before either Ben or Rook could say anything, Vanessa was engulfed by a flash of light, and replaced by a doll version of herself. Rook quickly picked it up and gently placed it into one of his belt pouches.

"Wow," Ben said. "That's new."

"I have only seen her fall into this state once before," Rook explained with a worried frown. "It took her weeks to return to us."

"Any idea who this 'Dark One' is?" Ben then asked, suddenly feeling  _very_  unsure. "Could he be the other figurine Charmcaster had?"

"I do not know, and that worries me more than anything," Rook answered.

At that moment, the inertial compensator decided to fail, causing the floor underneath them to vibrate violently. Ben was thrown off balance by the vibrations, but was caught and steadied by Rook. "We should go to the cockpit and see if we can help Captain Dudesman," Rook said.

"You mean Grumpy Duck? Sure, let's stick out necks out for someone who might bite them off if we say or do the wrong thing," Ben replied sarcastically before following Rook back to the cockpit.

Up in the cockpit, Hobble was moving from panel to panel with a screwdriver in one hand, and a wrench in the other, as he quickly tightened various screws and bolts that were falling out. Pixi was wailing endlessly about the inertial compensator, and the overloaded power relays connected to it. Rad seemed to take it all in stride and simply tossed a handful of small gumballs into his open beak.

Ben was frantically spinning the hard-light dial of the Omnitrix, praying for either Upgrade or Juryrig; a sudden bout of pteromerhanophobia finding it's way into his being, as well as a bit of acrophobia. His mind was pulled from visions of falling to his death from orbit by the Omnitrix detecting a new life-form to be scanned. When it failed to acquire the DNA due to distance, Ben looked to Rad and said, "We've got to turn this ship around!"

"No way!" Rad barked.

"If we don't, I'll be locked out of the Omnitrix!" Ben pleaded.

Rad turned to look at Ben with a frown and replied, " _You_  go back!" before pulling a lever and sending Ben flying out.

"BEN!" Rook cried, before leveling a glare at Rad. "Of course, you will now turn this ship around," he growled through clenched teeth, "knowing that such contrary behavior is merely to conceal your true sensitive nature."

Rad merely huffed, and staid his course.

"Let me rephrase that...," Rook growled before grabbing Rad by his shirt collar, and pulling him out of his seat to face him. "you  _will_  turn this ship around, or you will not live long enough to spend the rather absurd fee we've promised to pay you. Understood?"

Rad's feathers seemed to drain of color as he took note of Rook's irises shifting to sickles. Still, in an effort to maintain his cool and control he replied, "Fine," before being unceremoniously dropped back into his seat. "Bloody feral revonnahgander," he mumbled.

_**-BRoken-** _

The group was now in the town marketplace, following Ben who was following the Omnitrix's vague directions. It was rather uncomfortable, though, being in the marketplace since everything was rotten. The air was filled with the mixed scents of rotting meats, cheeses, and produce, and the ground was covered in the viscous puss oozing from some of the foods.

"Bralla-da!" Rook exclaimed, "I hope to never see this planet again if this is what they consider to be a 'fresh' market."

Hobble kept close to Rad, very disturbed by the lack of  _any_  townspeople. "How about this?" he asked with a squeak. "You two go on, and the rest of us wait in the ship?"

Rad wrapped an arm around Hobble's hip and pulled him in close. "Are you scared, Little Cucaracha?" he whispered in Hobble's ear.

"Actually, right now I'm working on 'jumpy', though I may move up to 'scared', or just go straight to 'panic'!" Hobble replied.

"No need to 'jump' anywhere but behind me, my Little Cucaracha," Rad replied. "I will protect you."

"Ugh, seriously?" Ben asked. "Do you two  _have_  to act so lovey-dovey, especially at a time like this?"

Rad smirked and replied, "Fine words coming from you, Monkey. The next time you and the cat decide to flirt in the middle of a mission, I'll remind you of your reaction to me flirting with Hobble."

"Wait, you mean you're  _actually_  flirting with me?" Hobble asked. "You  _like_  me?!"

"It was not apparent?" Rad asked, sounding surprised.

At that moment, though, Scout ran up to the group, his fur looking pale, and his face full of fear. "Ben Tennyson! Rook Blonko!" he cried.

"Scout? What is wrong?" Rook asked as the loboan Plumber came to a stop in front of them.

"Something...something has happened to all the villagers! They're heading this way! They are not acting like themselves!" Scout explained, frantically.

Before Scout could explain any further, though, several red, diamond-shaped objects with bat wings shot through the air. One hit Hobble in the forehead, sending him tumbling to the ground before Rad could help him, before another hit Rad himself, making him freeze. Scout yelped as a third attached itself to his forehead, unable to stop the one heading for Ben. Luckily, Rook saw it and quickly stepped in the way.

"Blonko!" Ben cried out in alarm, before his attention was drawn to another one heading for him. Raising his arms in a defensive gesture, he waited for the impact...but it never came! He lowered his arms and was stunned to find himself surrounded by a prism made of light before fading away. Feeling a warmness in his back pocket, he was stunned to have fished out the Vanessa doll.

"What in the..." Ben turned to Blonko, floored. "Blonko, when did you stuff her in my pocket?" There was no answer. "Blonko?"

Rad, Rook, and Scout turned, as one, to face Ben. It was clear from the expressions on Rook's and Scout's faces that they were struggling against something, and loosing. Ben's heart clenched at the frightened and worried looks in Blonko's and Scout's eyes.

"Blonko?" Ben squeaked out in slight apprehension, slowly building up into horror as he recalled the Zombozo incident.

"Be-love-ed," Rook choked out through gritted teeth, "run! RUN!"

It was then Ben realized that he was surrounded by a mob consisting of every resident of this village. Too scared to move, but knowing that he must, he backed away slowly as his former allies and the mob came closer. Bumping into Hobble, Ben would have screamed, but was relieved to see the winged object just slide off of Hobble's forehead.

"Wha-what...why didn't that thing stick to you?!" Ben asked incredulously; angered that it didn't happen for Rook and the others.

"Heh, funny thing about my species," Hobble explained as he tossed the object aside, "our skin secretes a protective layer of mucus."

"So...you make your own lube?" asked perversely, despite the situation.

"I... _no_!" Hobble exclaimed before blushingly admitting, "Though, I suppose it could be used as such. And what about you? What was that light thing that protected you?"

"I think," Ben answered, "it was Vanessa. A better question, though, was what were those things that attacked us?"

Their attention was quickly brought to bear, though, up at an overpass where stood Zs'Skayr, Crujo, Kuphulu, Doctor Victor, and an unknown fifth alien. It was terribly creepy, with blue-ish white skin and sharp yellow teeth. It wore red and black armor with a long red robe covering it's legs. It sported silvery-purple gloves and had sharp claws, with a golden ring on his right hand. It was also wearing a red and black mask with spikes, with highlighted it's violet eyes.

"That 'thing' is a Corrupturas. It allows Lord Transyl here to control the bodies of his victims," Zs'Skayr explained, narrowing his one eye at Ben, and pointing his bony finger at the human. "I understand the green one's immunity, but not yours, Tennyson." His eye then landed on the doll still in Ben's hand, and immediately his mouth curved into a cruel smile as he recognized it.

"So, it seems the Dark Spectre Queen  _is_  here on Anur Transyl," Lord Transyl said with a dark chuckle. "And it seems she is trying to protect you, despite her weakened state. An exercise in futility, I assure you." He then frowned and added, "Still, the fact remains that you two have the potential to undermine our plans."

"And we cannot allow that," Zs'Skayr added. "So be ready, Tennyson. The party is just getting started!"

_**-BRoken-** _

"Hobble, I'll handle this freak!" Vladat-Ben stated with his right foot planted on Lord Transyl's back. "I owe the bastard for screwing with my Blonko. You stop Zs'Skayr!"

"With  _WHAT_?!" Hobble cried out in irate fear before being thrown the Vanessa-Doll as Zs'Skayr phased through the rubble behind the insect alien to grab at him. However, the doll in Hobble's hands released an energy discharge which shocked Zs'Skayr and tossed him back a few meters.

"Baah! Accursed sorceress!" Zs'Skayr bellowed. "Transyl! Quit fooling around and take him; he is without the sorceress's protection!"

"Like I'm gonna let him..." Vladat-Ben started before being flung off his feet by Transyl, who promptly grabbed him by the shoulders and brought him up to eye-level.

"Baah! You are not a  _true_  vladat!" he said with a sneer at Ben's mocking form. "You are a pitiful imitation, fit only to serve as my slave!"

Vladat-Ben struggled to break free, but his struggling began to lessen as his eyes met Transyl's. His whole body posture become relaxed and compliant. His eyes became half-closed as he was pulled deeper into Transyl's trance. Everyone in the room froze in shock, as well as either awe or fear. Rook, in particular, was positively distraught at the sight of his Heart's Flame being reduced to puddy in Lord Transyl's hands.

"N-no..." Rook gasped.

Scout whined mournfully.

Rad growled in fury.

"Oh, no!" Hobble wept.

"Oh,  _yes_!" Zs'Skayr cried out in victorious joy.

Everyone was as still as a statue as Vladat-Ben seemed to give out under Transyl's psychic control. "Yes...yes...," he drawled half-heartedly before frowning and saying, "Nah."

"Huh?!" Lord Transyl grunted out in surprise. "Impossible! No one is immune to my power!"

"I don't go for the whole hypnotic purple eyes thing," Vladat-Ben jibed in his usual quirky tone, beaming at Rook with a seductive grin. "I'm more into guys with eyes of gold, rimmed with red, like a sunset. Eyes that I can stare into and know that I'm safe and loved."

Despite the corrupturas on his forehead, Rook sighed in relief, and smiled at Ben's words.

"Your will is strong, but your flesh is weak," Transyl hissed, fixing Ben with a predatory stare. "I will make your lover suffer by watching me take your body for my pleasure. And I have no doubt his suffering will be the suffering of the damnable Dark Spectre Queen herself!"

"Pff, not even!" Vladat-Ben spat in Transyl's face in outrage, "because you can call me...'WHAMPIRE'!" And with that, the Omnitrix timed out; it's light burning Transyl's skin, causing him to drop the now human lad.

Of course, now that he was no longer Whampire, Ben's corrupturases shattered, returning free will to Zs'Skayr's men.

"You must...escape...little omega," Scout growled out, trying to overcome Transyl's will.

"He is... _my Beloved_...and I...will...tell him...to flee...myself!" Rook snapped in annoyance at his friend and former room-mate before turning to Ben and crying, "Beloved...run!"

Ben chuckled in a self-assured manner and said, "Please, I still have Hobble, and Transyl can't control him. Right, Hobble?" When there was no immediate response, Ben looked around the chamber worriedly. "Hobble?" Laughing nervously he then said, "Well, at least I have Vanes...oh, crap!" It then hit Ben that until the Omnitrix finished recharging he was completely defenseless.

And with that, Zs'Skayr ordered Victor to hold Ben in place so that Lord Transyl could get a clear shot at Ben with his corrupturas. "I wouldn't want him to miss his target," Zs'Skayr commented, as he hovered over to the vladat's side. "Besides," Zs'Skayr added with a twisted grin, "this way you can be with your revonnahgander lover...forever."

Ben desperately tried to recall his breathing techniques, for all the help they were. He was very much close to tears, as he realized that this was the end. So, he hung his had in resignation and awaited his fate.

Victor was also coming to terms with a grim reality. As he watched the boy in his hands realize his fate and, finding no hope, give in to it, he recalled the boy's words from earlier, whilst under his control:

_"And you're sure he'll really help you...we both know how he treats his minions, so what's to keep him from going back on his promise?"_

And with that, Victor dropped Ben quite unceremoniously, and caught Transyl's corrupturas in his hands before squashing it. "I have lost  _too_  much!" Victor growled. "To the vladats, who used my people as slaves, and worse, and to you, Zs'Skayr." Victor turned his furious eyes toward the ectonurite. "I have seen how you operate; how you use people, and turn them against themselves. I will stand for it no more!"

Victor then looked down to Ben with a sad look and said, "I  _envy_  you, boy. You have a lover, friends, and family. You have  _happiness_! These are things I lost, and can never get back...not even with whatever black magic Zs'Skayr thinks he can bring to bear." He then frowned as righteous fury overcame him. "I will not stand by as another innocent has his happiness taken from him by the vladat scum!"

And with that, Victor bellowed a most frightening roar, and stampeded into the cryo-tubes containing the dried up remains of Transyl's people.

"DO SOMETHING!" Zs'Skayr screamed in panic at Lord Transyl.

"I think you've done  _more_  than enough, the both of you..." a voice called out, before revealing itself to be the Vanessa-Doll. The doll floated over to the the vladat and ectonurite before saying in a reproachful tone, "Look at you two fools. You never  _once_  considered how your minions would react when truly given free-will. You lord over all life thinking you know what the 'Greater Good' is.  _Your_  'Greater Good', maybe, but not that of the universe!"

The doll then landed on the ground before being engulfed in purple mana, which then grew exponentially before dispersing to reveal a fully revived Vanessa, clad in a dark blue dress with a single bare shoulder. Vanessa quickly appraised herself, thumbing the dress as she muttered, "Hmmm, I had hoped to form the purple dress..."

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Zs'Skayr shouted in surprise, fury, and confusion. "You drained yourself dry...you should not be back to full strength so soon!"

Vanessa cocked her hip to the side, planting a hand upon it, and gave Zs'Skayr an amused look. "True, but you didn't spend  _all_  of the Alpha Rune's power on resurrecting your vladat friend. So while you weren't looking, I sucked it up, as well as a portion of the energy generated by the  _Lovely Duck_ 's engine. Speaking of which... HOBBLE!"

Instantly, the group was set upon by laser blasts from the aforementioned ship. Vanessa quickly formed a protective barrier around her charges and removed Transyl's corrupturas from Rad, Rook, and Scout.

_**-BRoken-** _

After changing from Atomix back into his own self, Ben immediately ran into the awaiting arms of his revonnahgander. Wasting no time, the two initiated a deep, passionate kiss which made Zs'Skayr's former minions feel a bit awkward. Victor only chuckled before taking Transyl by the collar of his shirt and leaving.

When Hobble jumped off the boarding ramp and into the chamber, he hadn't expected to be caught by the ship's captain, nor had he expected to be pulled into a similar lip lock. "Your hot when you're brave," Rad said huskily as his Little Cucaracha melted into the embrace.

The team then summarily board the  _Lovely Duck_  and took off without a second thought; Hobble seated comfortably into the lap of 'his Dudesman', and Ben seated in the lap of 'his Kitty'.

Vanessa had never seen such a heart-warming, or sexually exciting, sight in nearly a millennia.

* * *

**Episode 49: Catfight**

Ben was having and immensely enjoyable time this evening: he was on a date with his fiance at the movie theater viewing the latest Sumo Slammers film. Though, neither Ben nor Rook were really paying much attention to the film.

"Would you care for more nachos, Beloved?" Rook asked softly as he held out the box to Ben. Instead of taking the offered Box, though, Ben instead took hold of Rook's hand, which held a single chip covered in queso and shredded jalapenos. Rook's eyes were suddenly very focused on Ben's mouth as the boy brought Rook's hand to it, and bit down on the chip.

"Mmmm," Ben moaned, giving Rook a cheeky grin, before licking the cheese off a wide-eyed revonnahgander's finger. "Tasty."

Rook's fur bristled as he gave Ben a smoldering stare. But, to Ben's surprise and slight disappointment, Rook turned away and resumed watching the movie. Ben pouted, wondering why Rook had just brushed him off like that, until Rook yawned and stretched,  _casually_  draping his arm over Ben's shoulders.

"Smooth, Blonko," Ben chuckled softly.

"I have no idea what you mean, Beloved," Rook whispered back, pulling Ben closer to his side as he did. "Now, we really should focus on the movie," he added as he gave Ben's shoulder an affectionate squeeze.

"Yeah, I suppose we should," Ben said as he gave Rook a coy look; his hands dancing lightly across Rook's thigh, "but I'm enjoying watching you more. Didn't Gwen ever tell you that if you can ever tear my attention away from sumo slammers, you really should  _hold_  on to it?" On the word "hold", Ben gave Rook's thigh a playful squeeze.

Behind them, Argit groaned in annoyance at the ridiculousness of the situation before him. Both he and his off-again/on-again girlfriend, Ester, had been invited on this double-date with Ben and Rook. "It's bad enough we have to watch this movie, but do we also have to watch the fluff-nuts acting all lovey-dovey?"

"Shhh!" Ester hissed, "I, for one, am happy to see them acting like this, especially given the rough road Ben's had to walk down these last few weeks."

"You mean the 'Ben having a mental breakdown after seeing Rook as a zombie clown' thing?" Argit asked above a whisper, causing Rook to turn and narrow his eyes at Argit, who cowered at the sight as Ben turned around with a bored expression.

"No, it's the 'Argit dating my best friend and sitting behind me whispering conspiratorially to said best friend' thing." Ben snarked. He then turned back around and leaned his head on Rook's shoulder.

Argit bit back a yelp when Ester slapped his arm, but said to her, "Come on! Why pay $10 for a movie if you're not even going to actually watch it? I miss the old Benji who would drop everything at the sight of Sumo Slammers."

"Everyone has to grow up sometime," Ester said, by way of explanation; the "Even you," was left unspoken.

"I must say," Rook whispered to Ben, "besides the obvious awkwardness of being on a double-date with Ester and Argit, I am enjoying myself immensely."

"Yeah, and I think Ester likes it too," Ben said as he snuck a glance back at Ester, who had her arms crossed as Argit tried to apologize. She seemed steadfast in her ire toward Argit until he put his jacket on her as he didn't want her to be chilly. She looked surprised at the gesture, but tried to keep up her annoyance with him...until he nuzzled her neck with his snout, planting kisses on the skin. Ben had to keep from giggling at the sight of Ester shivering, and not from the cold.

"It would seem Argit, despite his earlier misgivings, has learned from our example," Rook whispered with a small smile. "Perhaps we might continue?" As he spoke, he began to nuzzle Ben's ear, planting soft kisses along the lobe before nibbling on the bottom-most part.

Ben squirmed, chuckling a little at the sensation. "Be glad your  _ma'jun_  is in the other movie and not here to report back to Rook Da on your 'un-revonnahgander-like behavior'."

"It is indeed fortunate she had preferred to see ' **December Soldier** '," Rook agreed.

"Ah!" Ben squeaked before clapping a hand to his mouth, eyes searching to see if anyone had noticed. Thankfully, the sounds of explosions managed to cover up his exclamation quite nicely. "You're on thin ice as it is, Mr. Rook," Ben teased, "between the nibbling on my ear, and the rubbing against my thigh, to say nothing of that purring."

Rook pulled back with a confused frown and said, "My hands are on top of your hand and your shoulder, not the inside of your thigh. And I am not purring, Beloved."

Ben blinked in surprise and looked down to see what was rubbing against his leg. To his shock, it was an orange tabby cat!

"Is that cat grinning at me?" Ben asked incredulously as the cat then stuck it's head into the pocket of the coat of the guy who was sitting in front of him and Rook.

"Hey, he just stole that guys wallet!" Ben yelled.

"I DIDN'T STEAL NOTHING!" Argit shouted in a defensive reflex, pulling away from Ester.

"Not  _you_! The cat!" Ben said, pointing to the cat who was being joined by three other cats.

"Is this what they mean by 'cat burglar'?" Rook asked.

"Come on you two, what are you doing just sitting there and making out?" Ben called to Ester and Argit as he ran after the cats. "It's hero time!"

"Well, he's bound to turn into some awesome alien to save the day," Ester said as she stood up, grabbing Argit's hand with an excited grin.

"You know me: I'm always up for watching a good fight," Argit replied as he followed her.

Rook was the last to leave, rolling his eyes and sighing before doing so.

As they flew through the lobby, they couldn't help but overhear Vanessa rant at the man working the concession stand. "$15 FOR A SMALL POPCORN AND POP?! I OUGHT TO RESURRECT YOUR DEAD GRANDMOTHER AND HAVE HER ZOMBIE CHEW ON YOUR-" She stopped when she spotted her godson and the others. "Hey, where are you all going?"

"Tennyson just ran out of the movie chasing after some pussy!" Argit joked.

"Argit!" Ester scolded, though she was biting down on her lip to keep from laughing.

"Really?! I'd never believe it...especially since all I saw of of Ben last was him chasing after some cats right out the front door," Vanessa said after unhanding the man behind the concession stand.

"Thank you,  _ma'jun_ ," Rook called before heading for the front door of the theater.

"No doubt my little Blonko is gonna perform some dazzling acrobatics and marksmanship," Vanessa coo-ed to herself before following after the kids.

Outside, everyone saw the source of the filching-felines: a young Asian girl with a cat-ears hair band, cat-paw gloves, a pink collar with a bell, and a rather ridiculous dress.

"Huh, is it Comic-Con already?" Vanessa asked in puzzlement.

"Naw, it's that kooky cat-lover," Argit explained. "I can never remember the name, though..."

"Nyancy Chan!" Ben shouted to the female thief.

"No, I think it was Debra, or something," Argit said, scratching his chin in contemplation. This earned a face-palm from Ester and Vanessa.

"Ben Tennyson! The hairball in my saucer of milk!" Nyancy said with a sneer.

"Um...ew?" Ben retorted to Nyancy's insult.

"Huh...have you ever gotten a hairball, Benji?" Vanessa asked with a devious smirk, earning a flustered response from Ben and a confused look from Rook.

"I...that is... _no_!" Ben stammered, blushing a deep red. "Why would I have?"

"Well, you  _are_  engaged to be married to my eldest god-child," Vanessa answered.

Rook's eyes widened comically as he suddenly understood Vanessa's insinuation. To say he was mortified beyond all reason was an understatement.

"Oh, please, like you don't already know that we haven't done it!" Ben shot back, earning an alarmed response from Rook.

"Beloved!" Rook scolded.

"What? We haven't. I'm not really ready to take that leap, yet, and you're too chivalrous to even try to push me towards it," Ben said.

"True," Rook replied, "but this is hardly proper conversation material!"

Yeah, Benji. Don't you have some pussy to pound?" Vanessa teased, earning snorts of amusement from Ester and Argit.

"First of all," Ben said, looking a little green around the gills, "I think I just threw up a bit in my mouth. Second of all, it's Nyancy Chan...she doesn't have any powers."

"Except one," Ester said as she regained her self control.

"Any  _real_  powers," Ben amended, earning a huff from Nyancy. "Cat control doesn't count."

"Cat control is  _too_  a power," Vanessa said, "and it is  _adorable_!"

"It is," Nyancy purred before hissing, "ATTACK!" At her command the cats surrounding her yowled, hissed, and spat as they charged toward Ben.

"Ooh, I'm so scared!" Ben mocked, before activating the control dial on the Omnitrix. "Wildmutt's just gonna chase you up a tree anyway."

"Blonko, do you sense doom approaching?" Vanessa asked, her nose scrunched up in worry.

Indeed, Ben's use of the Omnitrix did not grant him the form of a vulpimancer, but rather, an appoplexian...a  _cat_.

"Damn, I could have made a killing off that bet," Vanessa sighed.

"Wait..." Argit said, looking floored, "is he wearing clothes?"

Indeed, Rath was clothed in an emerald skirt with black trimming, as well as a matching sash that went across his torso.

"Yes, we had a long, thorough discussion a while back when it was learned that Rath's species wear clothing. And..." Rook's explanation was interrupted by rapacious laughter from Ester, Argit, and Vanessa.

"Ar you...ahahahaha!" Vanessa couldn't continue.

"You're saying this  _whole_  time, Rath was essentially  _naked_?!" Ester choked out.

"Oh, wow," Argit said around his tail, which he was biting to keep from laughing so hard. "Oh, that puts a  _whole_  new perspective on Ben..." Argit's face dropped, however, at the deep glower Rook was sending him.

Catching sight of Rook's expression, the two women sobered up just in time to hear Rath's rant to Nyancy Chan.

"LEMME TELL YOU SOMETHING, CRAZY CAT LADY WHO'S MAKING ME MISS THE BEST PART OF SUMO SLAMMERS 6, EVEN THOUGH I WAS REALLY PAYING MORE ATTENTION TO THE EPIC THINGS ROOK WAS DOING TO MY EAR WITH HIS FORKED TONGUE," Rath screamed, "RATH IS GONNA-"

And then Rath stopped as Nyancy's hypnotic feline gaze hit him full force, instantly cooling his normally fired-up jets. "...Do whatever you command," Rath then finished in a normal tone of voice.

Nyancy then took the opportunity to pet and coo at Rath, who didn't seem to mind in the least.

Rook, however, was particularly perturbed by seeing the young woman touching  _his_  appoplexian. "No one tames my tiger save for me!" he hissed.

In response, Nyancy Chan gave Rook an evil smirk, pointed at him, and yelled, "Sic 'em!"

"Okay," Vanessa said, now having to eat her own words, "not so adorable."

After Rath had proven he meant business by assaulting the group with a water fountain, Rook stood in his way, his Proto-Tool taking the form of a tonfa. "I do not wish to harm you, Beloved," he said, his face stern and serious, but his eyes saddened and regretful. "Please...stand down!"

The battle continued with Argit projecting the quills on his back, and Vanessa binding Rath's legs so Ester could blitz Nyancy. However, Vanessa underestimated Nyancy Chan's feline allure, and so watched as Rath leapt forward to grab Ester's stretched out legs and yank her back, smashing her into Rook, Argit, and Vanessa. Now free of the Dark Spectre Queen's spell, Rath used Ester's limbs to tie them all up into a ball before walking off with Nyancy Chan and the other cats.

"Okay, so did anyone see at what point we lost control, here?" Vanessa asked.

"Well, it can't get any worse," Argit said.

At that moment, both Vilgax's and Attea's respective battleships appeared in the night sky, as though to spite Argit's statement. Vilgax used a teleport to materialize before them, while Attea's uni-autocycle drove up to them.

" **I have come for Ben Tennyson!** " they both said at the same time, causing them to glare at each other before saying, once more in unison,  **"** _ **I**_ **have come for Ben Tennyson!** _ **I**_ **have! I-"**

"Ben Tennyson come for I have!" Attea crowed. "Ha! In your face!" Turning to Ben's allies, Attea then asked, "Well? Where is he?"

But no one answered. They were too consumed with Attea's new look. First of all, Attea's eyelashes weren't nearly as long, and they weren't elegantly curved as they used to be. Also, Attea's lips weren't quite so full, and glazed by lip gloss. Lastly, Attea's body had lost all its former feminine curves (particularly in the chest and ass)! And Attea's voice! It had dropped a few octaves, and now had a sort of rasp to it!

"Attea! What the hell did you do to yourself?!" Ester cried.

"Actually, I'm going by 'Atteo' now," Atteo answered. "And what I've done is make myself desirable to Ben...uh, he is still gay right?"

"Honey, that boy's as bent as a double-rainbow," Vanessa answered.

"Phew, that's a relief," Atteo muttered. "You have  _no_  idea how much it cost to get all this done! I could've funded another seven invasions for the price of exchanging my boobs for a dick! And the post-op psyche therapy, oi!"

"All that pain and spending," Vilgax said with a smirk, "and all they could manage was a whiny per-pubescent runt of a boy. How do you expect Ben to find you desirable?"

Atteo grinned and replied, "By locking his Omnitrix in the Bullfrag position and having him top me! What are you gonna do? Pray there's a chimera sui generis mode in there?"

"Hardly," Vilgax said, still as smug and superior as before. "Unlike you, I needn't change his form. He is far more desirable to both myself and the revonnahgander as he is." Turning to Rook, Vilgax added, "and if the revonnahgander cooperates with  _me_ , I shall allow him to watch as I plunder Ben's virgin orifice before killing him."

"Who? Ben or Rook?" Vanessa asked.

"The revonnahgander, naturally," Vilgax answered, as if this were obvious.

"Ah. Well ain't it a damn shame, then that I can't allow that!" And with a snap of her fingers, Ester was no longer tying them together. Instead, she was tying Vilgax and Atteo together. "Now, let me make this quite plain: despite my own distaste at my dear  _liu'jun_ , the sweet fruit of his mother's loins-"

" _Ma'jun_!"

"-'loin fruit' that he is, choosing a silly little human boy as his mate, I am honor bound to protect them both from those that would tear them apart. And that means the two of you. So, I will only ask this of you both  _once_...get the hell off Earth, and leave Ben and Rook alone till long past your dying day. Savy?"

" _Ma'jun_ ," Rook said in a lightly warning tone, "as much as I enjoy your overprotective streak and your using your powers to ensure my Heart's Flame is not kidnapped by these despicable, reprehensible, disgusting stains on the fabric of the universe..."

"Hey!" Atteo griped while Vilgax simply growled and narrowed his eyes.

"...Doing so would be a blatant abuse of your powers," Rook explained to Vanessa.

"Plus, wouldn't it make more sense to have these two help us find Benji?" Argit pointed out. "I mean, as Rath he's near indestructible and under the control of a crazy cat lady..."

" **What crazy cat lady?!** " the two warlords shouted in tandem. " **Stop copying me!** "

"It's going to take forever for just the  _four_  of us to find Ben and break Nyancy's control of him," Ester said, agreeing with Argit.

"The slag!" Vilgax roared as he clenched his fists in righteous fury. "To think this mangy cat female would dare to bend  _my_  future consort to her will!"

"Wrong-o, Mr. Calamari Face!" Atteo spat in anger. "Ben's gonna be  _my_  royal bodyguard, personal assistant, and co-emperor."

"When arburian pelarota's sport wings!" Vilgax seethed.

"GENTLEMEN!" Vanessa screamed over their arguing before donning an amused smirk. "And I use the term  _loosely_." This caused Rook to moan in pain at Vanessa's use of a certain cerebral crustacean's favorite cliché, to say nothing of her verbal stab at Atteo. "I think our first course of action, besides going back into the movie theater for my purse, is to find out where Nyancy Chan and Ben...er...Rath will go."

"Then we may be here a while," Rook sighed with dismay.

"Nyancy Chan considers herself a master cat-related villainess; she will want to carefully plot a crime befitting her chosen theme."

At that, Rook's Plumber badge beeped to alert him of a broadcast from HQ. Rook held it up for all to hear as it said, " _ **ROBBERY IN PROGRESS AT 220 ARGENT BLVD IN UNDERTOWN. CRAZY CAT LADY AND GIANT TIGER WITH ANGER MANAGEMENT ISSUES.**_ "

This caused everyone to blink in surprise.

"Or, she could just go on a spontaneous crime spree," Rook said, retracting his former statement.

" **HE'S MINE!** " Atteo and Vilgax shouted simultaneously before rushing back to their ships using their transports of choice.

"He is  _my_  Beloved and fiance, and he is his own person!" Rook tried to shout over the sound of Vilgax's teleport, and Atteo's uni-autocycle.

"I don't think they heard you, Rooky," Argit said, trying to sound helpful, but ended up getting a rough shrug off when Rook turned to walk past him.

_**-BRoken-** _

Rook was beyond pissed. Vilgax and Atteo had Nyancy Chan and Rath in their clutches, and what did they do? They squandered their opportunity because they were still competing against each other over something they would never have! "I  _can't_  over stress the importance of coordinating our efforts," Rook hissed, his anger coming out in his use of contractions, to which Vanessa, Ester, and Argit all winced. "Furthermore, it would be best for all involved if you two would remove  _any_  plans for my Beloved from your head; he's  _mine_  and mine alone!"

"But what about a reward for helping to save him?" Atteo asked, earning a death glare from Rook.

"The only reward you will receive," Rook roared in response, "is the opportunity to leave this planet with all your limbs still attached!"

"You're in trouble," Ester chimed in a sing-song tone, slapping Argit's hand as he tried to stuff various items from nearby stalls into his back pockets.

" _ **CRAZY CAT LADY AND LOUD-MOUTHED TIGER SPOTTED ON SPACEMAN'S WHARF IN UNDERTOWN. APPROACH WITH CAUTION**_ ," the voice coming from Rook's Plumber badge said. " _ **AND/OR KITTY LITTER.**_ "

Upon hearing this, Vilgax and Atteo broke from form their bindings and tried to make a run from Spaceman's Wharf, but were immediately halted by a wall of mana conjured by Vanessa. The two would-be suitors for Ben turned around to see Rook looking positively murderous, and dangerously close to entering his feral state.

"Uh, uh, uh," Vanessa said, wagging her finger at them both, "you boys will have to work as a team. That is, unless you want my next meal to consist of frog legs with a side of roast-squid prepared ever so viciously by an enraged, feral revonnahgander. Now, that doesn't sound very pleasant, does it?"

Looking between Vaness and Rook, the two villains realized quickly that their chances for survival would be much greater if they just did as they were told. For the sake of pride, though, they still grumbled and muttered in displeasure.

"Man, I'm glad I don't have two crazy chicks chasing me for  _my_  tail," Argit states, before flexing his arms proudly. "Though, I wouldn't blame them."

Ester rolled her eyes, snapping her hand against Argit's butt like a rubber band, earning a cry of pain and excitement from the rodent-like alien. "Please, you've already got the one, and right now she's seriously questioning her choice in men," Ester teased, yelping in return when Argit slapped her bum with his tail before they both started cackling like two teenagers who just shared a  _really_  raunchy joke.

"Is it  _always_  like this around here?" Vanessa asked Rook.

"No. It is usually much... _much_...worse,  _ma'jun_ ," Rook answered, still very tense and on edge.

"Calm your inner-beast, child," Vanessa pleaded as she rubbed Rook's back gently, "we will find Ben. For now, be grateful that the crazy cat lady would rather play with him than harm him."

"That does not make me feel any better," Rook replied forlornly.

_**-BRoken-** _

The plan was fairly simple: break up into teams of two, and have one team approach head-on to distract Nyancy Chan and Rath, while the other two teams try to flank them. The teams consisted of Vilgax and Vanessa, Atteo and Argit, and Ester and Rook. As Nyancy's boat passed under a bridge, Vilgax and Vanessa jumped down from it and tackled Rath. Once Vilgax had Rath in position he whispered into Ben's ear, "It will be a treat to hold you done like this before plowing in to your virgin orifice." That seemed to rile Rath, causing him to struggle even more. "Stun him Atteo!" Vilgax cried realizing he was quickly losing his hold.

"Stun him?" Atteo asked, looking amused. "This is an Incursean blaster, thank you very much! Incurseans don't  _do_  stun!" And with that, he pulled the trigger.

It never touched its target.

They ended up regrouping at a warehouse by the river, where Rook enlightened them to their next plan: using a remote constructed by Blukic and Driba that would absolutely, probably, maybe force the Omnitrix into a time-out.

"All this is well and good," Vilgax grumbled, "but you forget one crucial element: up to this point we have been one step behind this Nyancy nuisance."

"Yeah, so, what's the plan?" Atteo chipped in. "Keep chasing them all over town for the rest of the evening? Real brilliant, fuzzy."

"Or we could take the battle to her," Argit suggested. When everyone turned to him in surprise he puffed out his chest proudly and declared, "I overheard Nyancy say where her headquarters is."

Atteo smirked and said, "Ooh, sneaky. I'm beginning not to hate this one so much."

"Back off, frog-face," Ester growled, wrapping her arms several times around Argit. "This one's mine."

Argit grinned, saying in a husky tone, "I love it when you get all possessive and tie me up with your limbs."

Ester returned the grin, replying, "You show us where Nyancy's HQ is and we get Ben back, and I just might tie you down to a bed with my arms and legs and do whatever I want to you. Sound good?"

Argit's response was a shuddered, "Ohhh, yeah."

_**-BRoken-** _

"YOUR FELINE-FELONIES ARE FINISHED, YOU FIANCE-FILCHING FIEND!" Rook bellowed, using a zip cord to slide down from the rafters. Ester followed behind him, using her elastic limbs to bring her safely down behind Nyancy as Atteo landed to Nyancy's left. Nyancy tried to make a run for it, but the door on her right was busted down suddenly by Vilgax, Vanessa at his side.

"You  _do_  know I could have used a spell to unlock the doors, right?" Vanessa asked Vilgax, who simply brushed her off with an apathetic grunt.

Seeing that she was surrounded, Nyancy Chan turned to her trump card. "Oh, Mr. Fluffykins," she called out sweetly before growling deeply, " _ **TEAR THEM APART!**_ "

Everyone immediately stiffened, moving into defensive postures, ready for Rath to take them down. The brown paper bag, upon Rath's head, however, had other plans.

As Rath fell on his back and ramming headfirst into a support beam, everyone gasped, winced, or just starred at the apoplexian. Rook wanted to immediately rush to Rath's side, despite knowing he probably wasn't hurt, and 'kiss his boo-boo'. However, Rath was still currently a threat, and until the Omnitrix timed out, keeping his distance would be the best strategy for Rook and the others.

"Well, look at it this way," Argit said in a reassuring tone, "at least he's wearing clothes! Otherwise, he'd be wearing a paper bag on his head  _and_  be stark naked."

"Argit, just stand there and look pretty," Ester said to Argit in an inpatient tone.

"Can do, baby," Argit replied before winking whilst imitating the sound of a gun's hammer being pulled back and pointing his finger at Ester like a pistol (earning both a facepalm and an amused grin from his girlfriend).

Nyancy, meanwhile, had walked over to Rath's side to remove the paper bag from his head. " _ **NOW GO GET THEM, TIGER!**_ " she growled, pointing at the group.

Ester took that as a cue to use the Omnitrix remote. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work. " _Absolutely, probably, maybe_?!" she exclaimed, giving Rook an 'are-you-freaking-serious?' look.

"RATH DOESN'T KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN BY THAT, BUT I WANNA PLAY! GIMMIE!" Rath cried before lunging at Ester, but was instead body-slammed by Vilgax. The two fought for dominance before Vilgax managed to pin Rath down, a hungry grin on his face.

"Mmmm, so rough, my love. Maybe I'll have you be this creature when we return to my homeworld," Vilgax purred into Rath's ear as he put the apoplexian into a head-lock.

"KEEP AWAY FROM ME, MR. BAD-TOUCH!" Rath said before reaching back and throwing Vilgax over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground. Rath then grabbed a handful of Vilgax's facial tentacles and swung him about like a discus before releasing him and sending him flying into a rack of crates.

While Vilgax kept Rath busy, Rook quickly devised a plan to force Rath to deactivate the Omnitrix himself by using a laser light to lead his hand to the Omnitrix badge upon his chest.

Once Ben realized he was free of Rath's form, and therefore, free of Nyancy Chan's control, Ben ran over to Rook and threw himself at the revonnahgander with wild abandon. "I'm sorry!" he cried, a few stray tears falling from his eyes. "I didn't want to hurt you! I couldn't stop myself! I'm so sorry!"

"Shhh," Rook soothed, stroking Ben's back softly, "you have nothing to apologize for. No one was hurt. Besides, it was not you that was in control. Trust me, I know what that is like."

Ben shook a bit as he remembered what Zombozo had once done to Rook. Looking up at Rook, he quickly leaned forward to initiate a kiss that was desperately needed by both parties.

"Awww!" Nyancy Chan cooed, causing all eyes to turn to her. "It's a shame I have to defeat you, Tennyson. You and your Kitty-Serpent make quite the sight for a yaoi fan-girl like myself. But you've bested me too many times!"

"Sound familiar?" Vanessa asked Vilgax while nudging him in the side playfully with her elbow. Vilgax's response was an annoyed frown and a dismissive growl towards Vanessa. Vanessa simply shrugged before stepping forward and saying, "Nyancy...sweet, psychotic, feline-loving Nyancy... **shut up and turn yourself in**." Behind Vanessa's words lay a tremendous power that the poor girl couldn't shake, and so Vanessa watched in satisfaction as Nyancy's mouth clamped shut as she walked over to Rook, arms held out as though awaiting handcuffs being put on her.

Ben and Rook shared an incredulous look before Rook released Ben and put his Plumber-issued handcuffs onto Nyancy's wrists.

"Well, then," Atteo said with a smug grin, "now that Tennyson's back and the evil-wannabe's about to be incarcerated...Tennyson is mine!"

Vilgax growled and said, "I have been owed Tennyson's body sing long before you even knew of his existence. He belongs with  _me_."

"Uh, you two do realize he's engaged to Rook, right?" Ester asked.

"Yeah," Argit added, "that boy's bum only whistles for revonnahganders." This, of course, earned him a disgusted look from Ben, Rook, Atteo, and Vilgax, and a cackle from Vanessa.

Ester turned to her boyfriend with a devious grin and said, "I ever tell you how much I  _love_  your filthy mouth and mind?"

Argit shrugged, an equally devious grin on his face. "Eh, wouldn't hurt to say it more often."

"ENOUGH!" Vilgax bellowed. "I have put up with this foolish adolescent behavior long enough! If Tennyson is not handed to me in the next thirty seconds, my armada will rip this planet to shreds!"

"Oh yeah?" Atteo cried. "Well, if Tennyson isn't handed over to  _me_  in the next  _fifteen_  seconds,  _my_  armada will rip this planet to shreds!"

"Seriously?!" Vanessa shrieked. "You just saw what I did to Nyancy, and still you two fight over Ben?! Not only that, put you're getting into a pissing contest?!" Vanessa threw her arms up in a 'I-give-up' fashion before leveling the two men with a harsh glare and hissing, " **Take yourselves and your armadas back to your homeworld. Now.** "

Fully overtaken by the power behind Vanessa's words, Vilgax and Atteo both activated teleports to return them to their ships, though they did their hardest to fight the compulsion. Once they'd fizzled away, Vanessa looked up at the skylight in the warehouse and, seeing the two armadas still there, frowned. Her eyes glowed neon purple as mana coursed through her body. Even in the warehouse, everyone could hear the wind whipping about as a tornado made of wind and mana formed and engulfed the armadas. After a minute or two, it died down revealing clear, open skies.

As everyone turned stunned eyes upon Vanessa, the witch simply shrugged and said, "What? They were taking too long."

As Rook drove Ben home, Ben turned to Rook and said, "Sorry about our double-date getting ruined."

Rook smiled and replied, "There is nothing to apologize for. We are Plumbers: our lives will always be filled with catastrophes of varying severity." Rook then took his right hand and gently squeezed Ben's left knee affectionately. "I suspect that so long as we have each other, there will be nothing we can't overcome."

Ben chuckled and replied, "You're cute when you're cliché."

**END VOLUME XIII**


	19. Volume XIV

**Episode 50: Collect This**

Ben couldn't help but loose a reckless laugh as he ran down the field, soccer ball rolling ahead of him. There was nothing more therapeutic than a friendly game of soccer, especially when you were playing against your fiance. This game had been the result of a promise Ben had made to a group of young kinecelerans he'd befriended a while back. Ben and Rook had split up, taking two kinecelerans each. He was nearing the goal when Rook swooped in and swept the ball from him. Ben couldn't help but admire how graceful his boyfriend was.

Moving alongside of Rook, Ben grinned and said, "There's no way I'm  _that_  good a teacher."

Rook grinned cheekily and replied, "Perhaps I am just that good a student."

Ben barked out a laugh before using the Omnitrix to turn into Kickin' Hawk and used the alien's speed and agility to take back the ball, all the while winking at, and blowing a kiss to, Rook. He then zoomed back the other way and sent the ball through the net and crashing into Pakmar's latest store...which was promptly reduced to rubble.

Of course, Ben didn't have time to worry about it since the Undertown Bank's burglar alarm was ringing! And to make matters more confusing, Ben's older, more impressively built doppelganger (who also called himself Ben 10) had decided to drop from the ceiling and handle things!

"Situation classification: EXTREME!" The  _other_  Ben states dramatically. "Extreme times call for EXTREME responses!" He struck a dramatic pose as he said, "And nothing that walks, walks the streets of Earth-Ville more extremely than..." The  _other_  Ben paused just long enough to shape-shift (revealing his status as a sludgepuppy) into a gaudy looking unicorn, which instead of legs had a single motorcycle wheel. "...UNI-TAR!" he finally cried, earning cheers from the other alien kids, and a look of disbelief from Ben.

"What is this...some weird fanfic, or another alternate timeline?" Ben says to himself.

"I shudder to think there's more than ONE of you out there," a voice spoke up beside him. Ben quickly turned and was startled to find Vanessa, Rook's  _ma'jun_ , hovering beside him, munching on some corn chips.

"Vanessa!" Ben exclaimed in surprise "What are you still doing on Earth?"

"I got Albedo signed up with the 'Interstellar Bright Stars Daycare for Little Geniuses'," she answered proudly before looking positively downtrodden. "It's lonely in the house, and Khyber doesn't jump when I shout 'boo' anymore, so I thought I'd pick up a show today."

"Wait, what do you mean 'a show'?" Ben asked, looking confused.

"I understand your confusion, Beloved," Rook spoke up. "You have never seen the  _actual_  extranet program. You have only heard teser-bursts with Young One when we first visited Revonnah."

"I'm sorry, Blonko. Your voice is like liquid sex, but I have no clue what you just said," Ben stated flatly, earning an amused yet annoyed quirk of Rook's eyebrow.

"This is  _the_  Ben 10 Show," Vanessa answered simply. "You only heard the radio show adaptation since Rook Da is against the extranet; he believes it makes the youths lazy. Traditional revonnahgander culture is very similar to the Amish culture here on Earth. Though, your not really missing much." At this, Vanessa gestured to the actor, who had charged Plugg in his Unitar form. "That actor is just eye-candy for the teens who watch him," she said.

"Like me," Ben replied, with a smug grin.

Vanessa's response was to burst into uncontrollable laughter, leading to her almost choking on her chips. After smacking her chest a few times to help clear out her lungs, she said with a wheeze, " _Never_  say that when I'm eating!"

"As my  _ma'jun_  was saying, this is the 'Ben 10 Show'," Rook stated adamantly, trying to get the conversation back on track. Gesturing in reverent awe at the lenopan actor, he added, "And that is 'Ben 10!'" Rook beamed in excitement, and seemed to miss the amused, if pitying, shake of Vanessa's head and the displeased frown from Ben.

"Really?" Ben drawled, his arms crossed. "Strange...I don't see the items that the ' _real_ ' Ben 10's fiance gave him. No engagement ring on his wrist. No necklace around his neck."

Rook quickly straightened up, as he'd been leaning over with a big grin on his face, eyes fixed on the lenopan. He then gave a wary glance toward Ben and said, "I am sorry?" with a sheepish smile.

"Maybe he took them off when the revonnahgander boyfriend started feeling up his fiance's Hollywood doppelganger with his eyes," Vanessa teased with a chuckle, earning a indignant yelp from Rook. "What? Your getting yourself in trouble,  _liu'jun_. Plus, I feed on drama, and I've got nothing better to do."

"I admire your dedication,  _ma'jun_." Rook drawled sarcastically.

"Time to boost my blood vessels," 'Ben 10' shouted out, turning back into his 'human form', "with Hokestar's new and improved, 'Miracle Elixir'!" Looking out to the crowd he then added, "Now one hundred percent, screegit-free."

"Ugh!" Vanessa yelled out, spitting in disgust. "You mean the old formula contained screegits?!" Getting all indignant she explained, "I'm allergic to screegits!"

"Oh really? I always thought thyme was your enemy," Ben replied, making a slam with how the the word 'thyme' sounded like 'time'.

Of course, Ben's ribbing of Vanessa came to a screeching halt when he spied 'Ben 10' winking at Rook, earning a deep blush from  _his_  revonnahgander, as he gulped down the bottle of Miracle Elixer. Ben soon found a good source for venting his frustrations in a familiar multi-armed alien holding up several cameras to record the scene."Hokestar!" Ben growled.

Suddenly, a low purr was heard as the Ben 10 actor suddenly burped, and his muscles soon became bigger, and rippling. "Oh yeah, THAT hit the spot," the actor said before looking to Rook, waggling his eyebrows, and flexing his pecs for the revonnahgander.

At that, Ben saw red and quickly activated the Omnitrix, turning into Arctiguana and freezing the fake, fiance-stealing actor into a block of solid ice!

"NOOOOO! Cut, cut, CUUUUUT!" an enraged Hokestar cried, having caught the whole thing on film. "My boy, you ruined the scene!"

Arctiguana's eyes narrowed before he stalked up to Hokestar and growled, "And your star is stealing my fiance. I'd say we're even!"

Hokestar rolled his eyes and replied, "He is merely arousing excitement and interest from the crowd. That is what live performers are supposed to do!"

"Oh, he's arousing  _something_  alright," Arctiguana said with a sneer. "And by the way? I don't recall getting any royalty checks from you. Care to explain?"

"As I recall, my boy, you said you wanted nothing to do with this. And so nothing is what you are receiving," Hokestar answered smugly.

Artiguana clenched his teeth, holding back the freeze breath he was about to unleash, and simply walked back over to Rook who was helping Plugg unfreeze 'Ben 10'; apparently, Rook's Proto-Tool had a heat laser function. "Leave him in there," he said with a twisted grin, "I think he looks  _better_  this way."

Rook frowned at Ben and replied, "That is not funny. You may have irrevocably harmed 'Ben 10'."

"Oh, yeah, cause I totally wouldn't wish death upon the guy who  _stole my identity and my fiance_!" Ben said, now in his human form.

"He has not 'stolen' anything," Rook replied.

"Oh, no," Ben said with a mirthless chuckle, "you are  _not_  making  _me_  the bad guy! No way! You're the one who was 'ooh'-ing and 'ah'-ing over the fake when you've got the real thing right in front of you! I could force you to sleep on the couch for this!"

"We do not live together, yet," Rook stated.

"I'll break into your apartment and force you to sleep on your couch!" Ben screeched, much to Rook's amusement.

"Uhhh, not that it's any of my business," Plugg said, "but maybe Tennyson is right. He was kinda flirtin' with you."

"Do not help," Rook replied with a frown.

After another minute, the Ben 10 actor was free of his ice prison and on a rampage. "Ooh! This crazy fanboy has totally iced my hair!" he cried, running both his hands through his brunette mop several times, watching in horror as little flakes of ice came off. " _This_  is why I hate location work!"

"Fanboy?!" Ben cried indignantly. "I'll have you know that I'm the  _real_  Ben 10. I'm the source material. Without me, you'd be nothing more than a prostitute!"

"Prostitute?!" the actor cried back in much the same fashion.

The two were about to come to blows when something blue and pink blurred out of nowhere and stood between them. As it turned out, it was an arachnichimp wearing a wig, a skirt, and a blouse. But this wasn't just any arachnichimp.

"Simian?" Ben asked in surprise.

"Benny! Long time no see, gem-eyes!" Simian replied.

Ben frowned and growled, "I thought I told you not to  _call_  me that!"

Simian shrugged and replied, "Sorry, babe, but your eyes really are just two gorgeous gems set a midst an alabaster statue."

A cough from Rook made Ben turn to look at his fiance, who was giving him a 'look'. "Hey, at least I'm refusing his advances!" Ben hissed.

"This time, but the first time you came really close to accepting," Simian cut in with a smug grin before walking over to Hokestar. "Why don't we head on topside for the next scene? We really do have a tight schedule to keep."

"Of course, of course," Hokestar replied. "Onward, my boys!"

_**-Broken-** _

When Ben and Rook arrived at the overpass, they found 'Ben10', who had turned into what seemed to be Fourarms, but had two huge hands, chasing Solid Plugg through the heavy traffic on the highway overpass. Vanessa was watching the show from the safety of a mac truck's roof.

"This is  _really_  getting out of hand," Ben sighed in his Diamondhead form before getting out of the Proto-TRUK to chase down the actors.

"What? Your relationship with my  _liu'jun_  due to his sudden infatuation with your beefy, cheesy, hunky doppelganger and your being hit on by Simian, or the over dramatic bad acting?" Vanessa asked with a cheeky grin.

"Don't you have a sister to dig out from under a house?" Diamondhead bit out before returning his attention to 'Ben 10'.

"Nothing gets out of  _these_  hands!" Ben 10 called out in a exaggerated dramatic tone. "For I am Slapstrike! Evil beware of my ' _Five Fingered Discount of Justice_ '!"

Unfortunately, Solid Plugg had landed on the side of a gas truck, which then was slapped by 'Slapstrike' just as Plugg jumped to avoid being hit. This resulted in the truck sliding into the edge of the overpass and breaking through the barrier, leaking fuel onto the road below.

"AHHHHHHH!" 'Ben 10' screamed in horror as he and Plugg ran off.

"Ben!" Rook calls out in alarm.

"I'm on it," Diamondhead called back with a resigned sigh.

" _Ma'jun_!" Rook shouts to Vanessa.

"I broke a nail!" she wailed as she sat on the road, staring at her chipped nail in alarm.

" _Ma'jun_!" Rook shouted louder at the sorceress.

"Oh, alright!" she snapped before disappearing in a shimmer of violet light.

"Help! Help!" screamed the trucker, trapped in his seat. His screaming halted when Vanessa reappeared next to him and quickly sliced through his busted seat belt with her sharp nails.

"Are you an angel?" the trucker gasped in surprise.

"Well...that's a first," she chuckled, before grabbing him and teleporting them both out of the truck.

Diamondhead shot his hands into the road and produced a crystal ramp, which allowed the truck to safely slide down and land on it's tires. Vanessa appeared next to Rook, who had been directing civilians away from the overpass, and held up the trucker with a cackle.

"I got mine. Where's yours?" Vanessa joked.

" _Ma'jun_ , put him down!" Rook insisted with a scolding frown.

"Okay, okay! Kill-joy," the sorceress replied before setting the guy onto his feet, only for him to faint straight away.

Crisis averted, everyone cheered for the save made by Ben and Vanessa, but Ben refused accept the adulation from the crowd. Instead, he rushed up the ramp, dead set on confronting the lenopan actor for his blatantly obvious attempts to seduce  _his_  revonnahgander boyfriend  _and_  for his stupid mistake that almost got hundreds of people injured in a gas truck explosion!

As the Actor re-assumed his human-esque form, he tried to act like it was all part of the movie. "Uh, nice assist, away-team leader gone rouge and Evil Killer Witch," he said around a nervous smile, raising his hand to Ben for a high-five.

"Evil?!" Vanessa yelled out in offense. "Sinister? Maybe. Malicious? On occasion. But evil?!"

Ben responded to 'Ben10' by grabbing his hand and painfully squeezing it.

"You really are something else, you half-wit! You put  _real_  people in  _real_  danger!" Ben scolded the fake-him, as he forced the actor to his knees in pain as he nearly crushed the actors hand. "I'm putting a stop to this, right now!"

"CUT! CUT! CUUUU!" Hokestar cried out in annoyance. "My Dear Boy, can't you even give me  _this_?!"

The Ben actor rubbed his hand, before glaring at Ben, who gave him a blank "I don't care" look.

"OOOOH! Simian, no recurring role for this guy!" he shouted, pointing at Ben, who proceeded to tear out his hair in frustration. "He's one and done! I don't take guff like that from a supporting player! And his old mother can stay a recurring character, but that's it!"

"MOTHER?!" Vanessa shouts.

"Please, I'd have hung myself with the umbilical cord in the womb," Ben groans in horror. His groan quickly turned into a growl as he saw 'Ben 10' stride over to Rook, run a hand through his hair in a flirtatious manner, and woo him with a charming smile. Before he could rage, though, Solid Plugg called Rook over to help him gather the organicites.

"You used  _real_  techno-organicites for the show?!" Rook exclaimed.

"They make  _fake_  ones?!" Solid Plugg replied, equally surprised.

Seeing the threat neutralized (for now) Ben took the opportunity to tackle the second and third headache inducers of the day: Hokestar and Simian. "Why do you even need to shoot here on Earth?" Ben growled.

"Simian's idea, my boy!" Hokestar answered, motioning to the arachnichimp who kept giving Ben small looks and grins; like the stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking, xenocyte herder had a chance! Ben was happily engaged and was  _not_  going to put his heart out on the line for someone as untrustworthy as Simian!

Of course, that was the moment that headache inducer number four showed up: a chunk of the bridge as long as a Volkswagen Beetle disintegrating due to  _real_  techno-organicites!

"Of course it was my idea, Ben," Simian said. "How could I not pass up the opportunity to film 'Ben 10' on Ben Tennyson's homeworld...not to mention the chance to see you again." Simian's charming, bad-boy grin was now in full force. And as much as Ben hated to admit, it did send a small tingle down his spine. "Plus, I wanted to make sure that the show got one last hurrah before it ended."

"What do you mean, 'ended'?" Ben asked suspiciously.

"Benny, let's be fair, It was great at first, battle Vilgax, defending Earth from the Incurseans and the Highbreed, and rebuilding the entire universe from scratch, but fans are fickle. As soon as they sense a pattern, they'll tire and look for something else. Which is why I volunteered to see to it that these last few episodes were the best of all. I'm also giving Hokestar advice on promotional stuff." At that, Simian snapped his fingers as an idea seemed to come to him. "Ooh! Here's an idea: have 'Ben 10' sign the planet in letters big enough to be seen from Andromeda! How amazing would that be?"

Ben's eyes narrowed, not feeling too sure about this.

Hokestar, on the other hand, was absolutely in love with the idea, and immediately sent Solid Plugg to obtain several hundred markers.

_**-BRoken-** _

When the Proto-TRUK landed in Greenland, Ben immediately jumped out of the vehicle and confronted the actor, producer, and Simian.

"Really, Hokestar?" Ben asked in a sarcastic tone. "You actually went along with this?"

"Of course, my boy!" Hokestar replied, "Simian is right! This will create a great deal of hype which then translates to profit from merchandise!"

"Yeah, but,  _graffiti_?!" Vanessa exclaimed in incredulous disgust. "And on the face of Mother Earth to boot!"

"Yeah, I don't go for people marking up Iceland," Ben stated with a disappointed shake of his head.

"Greenland, Beloved," Rook corrected him.

"Huh?" Ben turned to look at Rook with a confused scrunch of the nose.

"As I was taught, 'Greenland has ice, and Iceland is nice'," Rook remarked as he glanced at the 'graffiti'. "It is amazing that they were able to do this."

"Yes, and pollute the air with permanent marker fumes," Ben huffed.

And then a mighty force crashed into the ground near them, and everyone was nearly blown back by the gust of wind from the force.

"PREPARE YOURSELVES, FOR YOU ARE ABOUT TO FACE THE MOST POWERFUL BEING IN ALL THE GALAXIES!" A booming voice cried as a figure appeared out of the smoke. It had large purple-lens glasses and light green skin with dark green robes and armor. He was small and sat on a golden floating chair. Ben, Rook and Vanessa gave each other flabbergasted stares.

"BEHOLD, COLLECTIMUS! LET THE UNIVERSE TREMBLE AND DESPAIR!" The small figure cackled in evil delight, before he started pounding his fist in laughter, which turned off his voice scrambler. He chocked slightly, before regaining his composure. "I Collectimus, have come to collect Planet Earth-ville!" he declared in his stuffy, nasally, nerdy,  _real_ voice. "Now signed by  _the_  'Ben 10.'"

Ben's eyes widened as he turned to look at his name written in marker, then turned to frown at Collectimus in disbelief.

"Seriously?" Ben asks rhetorically.

"Seriously," Collectimus smugly retorts.

"You can't do that! I just bought a summer house here!" Vanessa declared in worry.

"Really?" Ben asked with a disbelieving tone.

"No, but I thought it might help if I said I did," Vanessa replied.

"Funny how that didn't work," Ben replied sarcastically before spinning around to level Simian with a harsh glare. "You did this," he hissed.

"Hey, don't judge, gem-eyes. You wouldn't believe what signed collectibles go for!" Simian hooted in joy.

"Well then, get ready to sell yourself..." Ben growled as he got up in Simian's face, "BECAUSE I'M GONNA SIGN YOUR ASS WITH MY FOOT!"

Rook and Vanessa lept forward, just as Ben kicked Simian right up under his chin, flinging the arachnichimp through the air and into the actor's worried arms. Ben flailed as the revonnahgander and sorceresses desperately held him back.

"Beloved, control yourself!" Rook huffed, struggling to keep Ben still. "You are acting more feral then I did with Albedo!"

"I hope you're proud of yourself," Vanessa shouts over Ben's head at the arachnichimp, who rubbed his sore jaw. "You've made yourself into a 'Levin' in his eyes; you've lost  _any_  chance of a one-time threesome with him and my  _liu'jun_!"

" _Ma'jun_!" Rook scolded, wrapping his arms around Ben's waist to hold him back.

A slight cough from Collectimus brought everyone's attention back to the creature that now owned the planet.

"You can't just collect the Earth!" Ben snapped, finally freeing himself from Rook and V.

"He's right, all my cool stuff is here!" Vanessa snapped as well. "I can't get chilli-fries for my little snowflake anywhere else!"

"Little Snowflake?" Ben asked in a whisper to Rook

"It is a pet name she has given to Albedo," Rook whispered back.

"Ah," Ben replied.

"Besides, there are several galactic statutes against planet-poaching," Vanessa pointed out, forming a purple glow around her hands, similar to Gwen when she used her powers.

"My  _ma'jun_  is right!" Rook whipped out his Proto-Tool and aimed it at the collector geek sitting in the floating chair. "Collectimus, you and Simian are under arrest!"

"No!" 'Ben 10' and Hokestar screamed in horror.

"We can't recast Gwevin," 'Ben 10'cried, covering the sides of his head with both of his hands. "Again!"

"Hey!" Simian screeched. "What about the affection and passion we shared?"

"You were only using me for your own agenda!" the actor pointed out with a sneer. "I'm an actor; you don't think I couldn't see you trying to play me?" He huffed and crossed his arms. "I mean really, I know we lenopans are thought to be shiftless, greedy, and deceptive, but I can't believe you'd use what's supposed to be a demonstration of love, and companionship in such...such...A REALLY BAD WAY!"

"Damn. The fake me gets it," Ben groused. "He used the exact same words I would have to explain why I've yet to..." Ben paused, shifting his weight from foot to foot, "...make love with Rook. I want it to be symbolic; that I truly love him and have no desire to be with anyone else, and that it's not just lust."

"Is that why?" Vanessa asked in surprise. "I figured you caught something from Levin."

" _MA'JUN_!" Rook snapped.

"No, I did get checked afterwards."

Rook looked startled by Ben's admission.

"Don't worry, I'm clean. Obviously Kevin was scum...but at least he only did it with me."

Vanessa rolls her eyes. "Yes, he's a real saint."

"Not that I don't find your conversation titillating, and food for this fanboy's fanfiction," Collectimus giggled, "but I have to point out that I'm not too worried about Galactic Law. I'm not from around here."

He then placed what looked to be a trading card of some kind into a slot on the arm of the chair, thus producing two laser cannons that began shooting at them.

_**-Broken-** _

"Well, everything seems to be in fine, to very fine, condition," Collectimus stated as he clinically analyzed the Mr. Smoothy they were currently at for 'negotiations'. Looking up at the restaurants sign, though, Collectimus frowned and said, "I liked the old sign better!"

"Huh, you know about that?" Ben asked, surprised at how knowledgeable Collectimus was. And it was true; the old Mr. Smoothy sign was far better than the new one. But would they change it even after a petition started by Ben Tennyson and signed by about 5,000 individuals? No!

"Of course!" Collectimus cried. "I'm the biggest Ben 10 fan that ever existed!" Collectimus then sighed, taking on a regretful look and adding, "I just wish this world was a little  _darker_...grittier."

Vanessa nodded her head in agreement. "Ben 10 as a noir hero would certainly add a fresher, bolder essence to the franchise."

Collectimus grinned at this, seeming to have found someone who understood his point of view. "Exactly! A Ben 10 who's dirty, harsh, and uncompromising! A Ben 10 who thinks himself the villain despite, in fact, being the hero!"

Before they could go any further, though, all heads turned to the Ben 10 actor, who had reverted to his lenopan form.

"Whoo! You ever have an itch so bad you had to switch to your real butt just to scratch it?" the actor asked.

Everyone just blinked before turning back to Collectimus.

"Well then, since you're the biggest Ben 10 fan ever, you know that I'm the real hero, and this guy's just a sludgepuppy who turns into pretend aliens," Ben said.

Rook, Vanessa, Simian, and the actor all gasped at this.

"Ben Tennyson!" Vanessa reprimanded. "That was very rude of you! I thought you were better than that!"

"Huh?" Ben asked, highly confused. "What did I say?"

"Beloved, the term...'sludgepuppy'...is a highly derogatory term for lenopans," Rook explained.

Ben tilted his head in confusion, the gears in his head disassembling and reassembling this new information as best they could. Once fully processed, Ben realized his mistake. With a regretful tone he said to the lenopan actor," I'm sorry. I honestly didn't know. My cousin is a slu-, uh... _lenopan_. She never once corrected me, my cousin, or my grandfather. None of her family did."

The actor snorted derisively and replied, "Most of my people have lost their pride; allowing themselves to be renamed based on our physiology. They see no reason in standing up for themselves since most of the galaxy doesn't trust us and our shape-shifting abilities."

"Not me," Ben said before smirking and adding, "I just don't trust you with my fiance."

The actor chuckled at that and returned the smirk, "You shouldn't. Not that I'd have a chance, though. He may want a signed photo from me, but I can tell he wants so much more from you."

"Are they actually getting along?" Vanessa asked Rook.

"I think so," Rook replied, both pleased and stupefied by the sudden change in attitudes...and all because of a social taboo!

Simian's imprisonment in one of Collectimus's cards quickly shifted attention back to the matter at hand.

"Bralla-Da!" Rook gasped.

"Totally!" Ben replied.

Ben struggled to reach for his Omnitrix, praying for something swift enough to tear himself and Rook out of the goop, and get away before it exploded, like Ballweevil's goop. Thankfully, the Omnitrix was willing to be civil, and so gave him Astrodactyl.

In one swift motion, Astrodactyl freed himself along with Rook before shooting straight up into the air as the goop exploded. With one arm still holding Rook to his head, Astrodactyl sent out an energy whip at Collectimus but missed. Sharing a quick look, Astrodactly released Rook, who leaped off of the Mr. Smoothie sign and landed on Collectimus' Chair.

"Halt, in the name of Galactic Law!" Rook shouts as he aimed his Proto-Tool at the alien collector.

Collectimus response was to press a button on his chair, causing it to spin rapidly.

" _Raawk_! My Blonko!" Astrodactyl cried in alarm.

Rook screamed, holding on for dear life.

"Get off, get off, get off! It's mine mine mine mine miiiiine!" Collectimus whined as the chair spun upward.

Astrodactyl tried to go after Collectimus, but the chair stopped spinning suddenly, causing Rook to let go and crash into Ben. The two would have landed quite roughly had it not been for a large catcher's mitt made of mana.

"AND YOUR OUT!" Vanessa cackled as she raised her right hand, which was glowing, toward Collectimus, sending out a blast of mana which shorted out his chair.

"Ahhhhh!" Collectimus wailed and screams. "WHAT DID YOU DOOOOO?! I got this chair from my mother on my BIIIIIIIRTHDAY!"

"Boo-hoo!" Vanessa mocked at Collectimus."Go cry to mama, and maybe tell her of your illegal activities!"

"I DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOU!" Collectimus snapped at Vanessa. "Just because your over a billion years old, does not make you my  _mother_!"

Vanessa nearly lunged at Collectimus, screaming and hissing something that sounded like a combination of Latin and Old Welsh, but she was held back by Rook and 'Ben 10'.

"Whoa!" 'Ben 10' yelled as he wrapped his lenopan arms around her, keeping her in place. "She's a wild-cat, huh?" he asked with a grin.

"You have no idea," Rook replied with a sigh.

As they fought to keep V in check, Ben strode over to Collectimus, who sobbed as he attempted to repair his busted chair.

"Look, Collectimus, how about we make a deal? A trade, so to speak?" Ben asked.

"And what do you  _possibly_  have to trade to me?" Collectimus snapped.

"Look, you want Earth because it's connected to the 'Ben Ten Show' right?"

Collectimus nodded an affirmative.

"How about if I give you something from  _my_  past? I'm sort of a prototype for the show." He quickly pulled out his phone to display an image of himself, six years ago, wearing his famous white shirt with the black stripe down the center. "For example, an original Ben 10 t-shirt?" Ben hoped he would accept it, not that he was much of a threat with his chair out of commission, but he seriously didn't want to see the guy get gutted by Vanessa for the 'Old' comment.

Though, looking back towards her, she seemed to be deep in conversation with the lenopan actor. He'd have to ask her later about that.

Collectimus looked closely at the picture. "Huh, that is kind of the inspiration for what Ben Jr. wore in the movie 'Power of the Secret Time Race'! But I'd need the outfit in pristine condition."

"Okay! And I'll repair your chair, and throw in Vanessa not using her powers to make your head explode," Ben cheekily added.

"Oh, can't I give him severe rug-burns all over his body?" Vanessa whined.

Ben gave Vanessa a look before turning into XLR8 and speeding away.

Vanessa giggled before looking over to 'Ben 10'. "Would you be a dear and keep an eye on our guest. When I get back we'll continue our discussion about a certain lovely young loboan." She then waved her hands before she and Rook vanished. They reappered a second later in Ben's bedroom.

"I must admit, this wasn't how I saw your bedroom, Ben," Vanessa said with a chuckle. "I was expecting a pile of empty smoothie cups, high as the ceiling, with chilli and semen stains all over the wall."

"Where do you get these wild fantasies about my Beloved,  _ma'jun_?" Rook asked with an intense frown. "I am beginning to think you are mentally ill!"

"No, no I had myself checked out," she casually remarked. "And I  _have_  to think the worst of him, this way I'll be pleasantly surprised when he shows me up. Besides, I'm sorta filling in for Rook Da. He's currently not present to be the disapproving in-law, so I'm taking over temporarily."

"And why is such a role so important,  _ma'jun_?" Rook asked in a frustrated tone.

"To ensure that he's worthy, and won't go running off when things get difficult!" she stated in a confidant tone, giving XLR8 a supportive pat on the back as he rummaged through his closet. "In truth, I'm rooting for you, Mud-Top."

"I think your definition of being supportive needs some fine-tuning, V," XLR8 said.

Vanessa simply giggled as she flicked her finger at a trunk, causing it to pop open. "Try looking in there.

XLR8 peered into the trunk before breaking out into a grin. "My old clothes! Perfe- ...oh." XLR8's grin turned into a frown as he saw the food stain on the front.

"My goodness," Vanessa exclaimed, letting the shirts float in front of her one by one. "Do you have  _any_  clothes that aren't stained with food?"

"Why do you think I now wear a black shirt?" replied.

"Pristine condition is going to be harder then we all thought," Rook said in a morose tone.

"Wait!" XLR8 exclaimed, perking up. "I know  _one_  person who'd have a clean shirt of mine!"

As it turned out, Grandpa Max did, in fact, have a box of Ben's old clothes. Finding an outfit in pristine condition turned out to be less of a hassle than originally thought. Still, time was running low. XLR8 pushed his legs to their limits and beyond, just barely making the deadline.

Collectimus grinned in excitement as he behold the article of clothing being offered to him. Without a word, he inserted a blank card into his chair, demolecularizing the clothing and imprinting it's data upon the card. "Wonderful condition!" He exclaimed, examining his new card. "Nice doing business with you, bye-bye!"

_**-BRoken-** _

"So, what were you talking to Deefus about earlier?" Ben asked, now referring to the actor by his name. The sun was setting, and Rook and Vanessa were walking Ben home.

"Oh, that?" Vanessa twittered. "Well, it's come to my attention that both of you boys have a nasty penchant for catching attention from unwanted suitors. So, to keep your relationship from doing a belly flop, I've resolved to start redirecting these suitor's eyes at each other."

"What do you mean,  _ma'jun_?" Rook asked.

Vanessa grinned and replied, "I told Deefus of a certain handsome young loboan we met back on Anur Transyl. One look at his picture from the Plumber's database and Deefus was panting like a thirsty dog, if you'll pardon the joke."

Ben's and Rook's eyes widened before they both cracked up in laughter.

* * *

**Episode 51 & 52: And Then There Were None/And Then There Was Ben**

Benjamin Kirby Tennyson was on a psychological roller-coaster ride that he desperately wanted off of. As if discovering that there were alternate versions of himself wasn't enough, now this Prof. Paradox character was saying it was up to him to reboot the Ben 10 timeline and reassemble the team of 'good' Ben's to take on the evil ones!

Yeah, easy for him to say!

Rebooting the timeline was simple enough so long as you didn't count re-wiring Vilgax's ship, re-directing the course of the escape pod containing the Omnitrix, and making sure the younger Ben fell into the crater. Benjamin was just happy he didn't have to put out that fire; just how dense was his younger self?

_**-BRoken-** _

"If you won't join us," Eon cried down to Ben 23, "you will suffer the same fate as all those other Tennyson's who refused us!"

"That's Vilgax?!" Gwen 10 exclaimed.

"That's Eon," Benjamin corrected, "though, technically, it's me. I mean, a bad version of me."

At that moment, though, the billboard Eon stood atop of exploded, and the villain was sent hurtling to the ground. As the smoke from the explosion cleared, a figure in green and black proto-tech armor hovered in the air, by means of a jetpack, holding some kind of rifle.

"If you insist on harming my partner," the figure declared, "then I must insist on eliminating you, free of charge."

"Whoa...who's that bad-ass?" Benjamin asked, greatly impressed by the mystery figures moxy.

Paradox grinned and answered, "That would be this universe's Rook Blonko. I expect we'll be seeing more of him as we go along. For now, I suggest we stand back and allow these two gentlemen to work."

And so the three watched the fight, amazed at how in sync Ben 23 and Rook 23 were. They had each others back and made up for each others weaknesses with their strengths. Eventually, Eon realized he was no match for the two and left.

"There," Paradox said, "I believe we can now make introductions."

"Whoa! Ben, is that you?" Ben 23 asked when he saw the three travelers approaching. "And...Gwen?" His eyes bulged at seeing an Omnitrix on his cousin's wrist.

"It would appear that she has the same Omnitrix as you, Ben-dude," Rook 23 stated as he removed his helmet, revealing his black and lime-green face.

"Wow. Rook sure looks hard-core," Benjamin commented as he traced the long thin scar going from Rook's right cheek to halfway across his nose with his eyes.

"Actually, this Rook is slightly different, and the Rook of yours and Ben 10's universe's doesn't have any facial scars," Paradox explained.

"Um, am I missing something?" Ben 23 asked. "What's the sitch?"

"Sorry,"Benjamin apologized, "but I'm not the Ben you think I am. I'm a Ben from an alternate universe where there's no Omnitrix."

Rook 23 cocked a brow and grabbed Benjamin's wrist to show off the Omnitrix on it with a doubtful smile.

"Err..." Benjamin blushed, not only for the obvious flaw in his explanation, but also from the strange tingling sensation of being touched by Rook 23. "It's not my Omnitrix. It's the other Ben's Omnitirx."

"Ooookay," Ben 23 said, looking even more confused, but then frowned and slapped Rook 23's hand to get him to release Benjamin's wrist. This earned him a cocky and arrogant smirk, which just caused Ben 23 to pout and look anywhere but at Rook 23. "So, what's the agenda of that Eon-hater?" Ben 23 asked, trying to change the subject.

"Well, he's teamed up with Vilgax in order to wipe out every Ben in every universe," Benjamin explained. "And that's why we're here."

"Indeed. It is a terrible crime against nature to rid the multiverse of Benjamin Kirby Tennyson," Rook 23 said in an almost mocking tone, still looking pointedly at Ben 23 with that same smirk which he knew infuriated the boy. Honestly, the little sapphire-eyed brat was too easy to enrage. But that was what the thirteen year old revonnahgander bounty hunter liked best.

"If you ever say the 'K' word again, I'll make sure Eon and Vilgax gets rid of every Rook Blonko as well!" Ben 23 hissed, now glaring at Rook 23.

Rook 23's smirk turned into an all out evil grin before his mouth opened to slowly enunciate, "Kir-

"That is quite enough, you two," Paradox said, both amused and irritated by the childish behavior; oh this universe had no idea what would be unleashed upon it in the years to come with these two. "If we do not stop Eon, all the universe's that the other Ben's belong to, and everyone in it, will cease to exist."

At this, the squabbling pair stopped.

"So, how can we help?" Rook 23 asked.

"You want to help?" Ben 23 asked dubiously.

"Can't get paid if our universe ends," he explained before wrapping his arm around Ben's shoulder and pinched his cheek. "Plus, who could possibly stand aside and let  _this_  cherub face get wiped out of existence."

"Gaah!" Ben 23 exclaimed as he pushed Rook 23 away.

"Unfortunately, you cannot come, Mr. Rook," Paradox informed the revonnahgander bounty hunter. "I cannot pull anyone out of their respective time-stream, except for Ben at this moment."

"Just as well," Rook 23 said, swooping in to ruffle Ben 23's hair and then jumping to watch in amusement as the boy desperately tried to smooth it back down, "someone's gotta stay behind and make sure the town does not fall into bedlam." His eyes then met Paradox's in a stern glare as he said, "I suggest you bring him back alive and in one piece."

Ben 23's eyes widened and his cheeks reddened in a blush at Rook 23's protective tone of voice.

"After all, who's gonna pay me if he's gone?" Rook 23 added with a chuckled, quickly dodging a swat from Ben 23. The two, however, did embrace each other in a tight hug that spoke volumes about how they truly felt about each other. Though, Benjamin could have gone without witnessing the quick bite Rook 23 gave to Ben 23's ear. That was one roguish revonnahgander!

"Okay," Ben 23 said, lightly rubbing the spot on his ear that was bitten by Rook 23, "so how do I help you...er...us?"Paradox smiled as he opened a portal for them to go through.

_**-BRoken-** _

The team of four appeared on a platform situated midway up the length of the tallest tower in a sea of futuristic skyscrapers overlooking Mt. Rushmore.

"Where are we?" Benjamin asked.

"This is the galactic headquarters of Ben 10,000," Paradox explained.

"Cool!" Ben 23 exclaimed.

"Indeed," Paradox replied with a grin, "for this is one possible future for all the good Ben's in the multiverse who bare the Omnitrix."

Inside, the came face to face with a middle-aged Ben with a goatee and a little gray in his hair but whom otherwise still looked strong and capable. Hearing their approach, Ben 10,000 turned away from the control panel he'd just been fiddling with and grinned at the sight before him. "Paradox," he said, by way of greeting.

"Hello Ben," Paradox returned, as though greeting an old friend.

Ben 10,000's grin widened as he said, "Let me guess: some kind of cross-time doomsday threat that only wearers of the Omnitrix can stop?"

Gwen 10 smirked as she eyed the other two Ben's and said, "Guess this Ben had a brain transplant at some point."

"...Dweeb," all three Ben's said in concert as they looked at her, Ben 10,000 with amusement, Ben 23 and Benjamin with annoyance.

"Well," Ben 10,000 said, as he reached over to Benjamin's Omnitrix, "let's get going."

In a flash, Benjamin transformed into Clockwork. "Hey! Whoa! Who is this?!" Benjamin exclaimed in surprise.

"Clockwork," Ben 10,000 explained, "he's got time powers. Speed up, slow down, forward, back."

"Because Eon is another version of Ben," Paradox cut in, "he may sense the resulting sotobro effect."

"Sotobro...effect?" Ben 23 asked.

"A sort of ripple in the time-stream that Clockwork causes when he uses his powers," Ben 10,000 explained.

"Then we better not risk it," Benjamin said as his Omnitrix timed out, returning him to human form. "If Eon and Vilgax suspect anything they may change their plans."

"Understood," Ben 10,000 said as he turned to face the control console again. "Let me tell my kids."

" _Kids_?!" Benjamin, Ben 23, and Gwen 10 exclaimed.

Ben 10,000 simply grinned as the monitor changed to a split-screen showing two ten year olds, one on each half of the monitor. "Ren, Bai, I need you two to sit tight while I go run some errands. Let your father know I'm with Paradox when he gets home."

"Can do, daddy!" Bailey, the girl, cried with enthusiasm while the boy, Renoir, simply smiled and gave Ben 10,000 a thumbs up.

After the monitor returned to black, Ben 10,000 turned around to some very amusing faces.

"Long story short," Ben 10,000 said with a knowing grin, "the Omnitrix allowed me to be pregnant with Rook's offspring."

" _Rook_? Rook  _Blonko_?! You married him and had his  _kids_?!" Ben 23 shrieked.

Ben 10,000 smirked and said, "I take it you an your Rook don't exactly see eye to eye?"

Ben 23 frowned and said, "My Rook is an arrogant jerk!"

Ben 10,000 turned to Paradox, his brow raised in a silent question.

"Oh, trust me, Ben," Paradox said, "the irony is not lost on me." Paradox then opened a portal and motioned for them all to go through.

"Wait!" Benjamin said. "What's the deal with this Rook Blonko guy? And why do I keep blushing every time he's mentioned? I've never even met my own version of him!"

Paradox smiled and said, "Rook Blonko is a necessary constant in the complicated equation that is Ben Tennyson. "

"Huh?" Benjamin asked.

"Put it this way," Ben 10,000 said, "you need him just as much as he needs you. And whether you two decide to just be friends, or if you decide you love him and want to marry him, he will always be there for you. He's the paper-weight that keeps us from flying away in the wind only to land in a puddle and wilt or a fire and burn. You'll understand one day."

_**-BRoken-** _

Vilgax growled in outrage over seeing Benjamin pulled out from underneath him into the portal, with only scraps of his hoodie caught in his sharp nails. "Run from me for the rest of your life, Benjamin," he hissed, "for at last, the Universe is once and truly  _mine_! And though it may take a while, you will be too!"

The evil laughter that ensued was cut short by a familiar voice.

"Wrong, squid face!"

Vilgax turned around to see a temporal portal opening, as well as Benjamin and Paradox stepping through it. Instead of being angry, Vilgax's face curled into a leering smile. "Back so soon, my pet. I knew you could not stay away from me. The allure of being by my side as I conquer the Universe is simply too much of a temptation," Vilgax purred as he started toward Ben.

Ben quickly held up his left wrist, showing the Omnitrix on it. "Stay Back!" he cried.

"How thoughtful," Vilgax said around a wide grin, "you kept the Omnitrix as a gift to me. You shouldn't have, as claiming you will be enough of a gift."

"I didn't keep it for a dowry, calamari freak!" Benjamin snapped as he activated the control dial on the Omnitrix. "I kept it to defeat you!"

"So, now you think you are a hero, my sweet?" Vilgax questioned patronizingly.

"I know I am...IT'S HERO TIME!"

And with that, Ben transformed into Clockwork, astonishing Vilgax and himself when he turned the key on top of his head, releasing a beam of green energy over the Earth, which descended down and was sucked back into Clockwork. When it was over, all the alternate Ben's that Eon, Vilgax, and Paradox had collected were back as they had been when Vilgax's chronosapien time-bomb went off.

"HOW?!" Vilgax cried out in disbelief and fear.

"Let me guess...chronosapien time-bomb?" Clockwork patronizingly asked. "Paradox was right, once I transformed I could see the...sotobro effect. Just figured I'd suck the ripple back in."

Vilgax gritted his teeth in outrage.

"I've finished being patient with you, Tennyson! If you refuse to give me what I want, I'LL JUST TAKE IT FROM YOU!" Vilgax snarled in fury.

"And just what have you been doing now? Asking nicely?!" Benjamin shot back.

Before Vilgax could leap at Benjamin/Clockwork, he was tackled by a furious Eon, bellowing, "BACKSTABBER!" and holding up a glowing purple blade to stab Vilgax. "ALL THIS, THE BETRAYAL, SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU WANTED A BEN TO WARM YOUR BED?!" Eon spat at Vilgax. But before he could plunge the blade into Vilgax's neck, Fourmungousaur ran over and smacked Eon off of Vilgax.

"Yeah, he is a skeevy perv, but I still can't let you kill him. Not before we stuff him into jail to rot."

And with that, Fourmungousaur delivered a solid punch to the cephalopod's face, which resulted in the conflict between the evil Ben's and the good Ben's to resume.

Benjamin managed to end it all, by using Clockwork's time powers to send all the bad Ben's away, including Eon.

"Are they all...," Benjamin cautiously asked as he turned back to his normal self.

"Returned to the unsightly timelines that spawned them," Paradox answered.

Suddenly, Ben 10,000 was sent flying past Benjamin and Paradox. The two tracked the source of the man's flight to an enraged Vilgax, standing with fist clenched tightly.

"TENNYSONS!"

Benjamin quickly removed the Omnitrix and threw it back to Ben 10...Ben Prime. His Omnitrix returned to him, Ben 10 slapped it on his wrist and held it up high. The others behind him took this as a signal to activate their Omnitrix's.

Gwen transformed into Cannonbolt.

Ben 10,000 transformed into Atomic-X.

Ben-23 transformed into Shocksquatch.

And Ben 10 transformed into Diamondhead.

"This one's yours," Benjamin said with a grin, jerking his thumb at Vilgax.

"Got it," Diamondhead replied with a grin before rushing forward to slam a fist against Vilgax's face.

Then Shocksquatch electrocuted him.

Cannonbolt/Gwen 10 slammed into his gut.

And Ben10k/Atomic-X conjured up various black-holes to suck in and twist Vilgax's limbs painfully.

Once Vilgax collapsed in pain, Shocksquatch super-charged a rolled up Cannonbolt before launching straight toward Vilgax. Diamondhead created a ramp that sent Cannonbolt head-on into Vilgax, who went flying through the walls of Los Soledad. Atomic-X then teleported ahead of Vilgax and, with a mighty flick of his fingers into Vilgax's face, sent the Conqueror of Ten Worlds straight up into the air before plummeting back down to the ground, leaving him in a massive crater, badly injured, and on the verge of unconsciousness.

While the alien heroes watched Vilgax struggle to get to his feet, Diamondhead gave Benjamin an encouraging smile and said, "You've earned it."

Benjamin smiled before charging toward Vilgax and, with a mighty "Ki-yah!", delivered a kick to the alien warlord's face, knocking him out cold.

_**-BRoken-** _

"Magister Tennyson, I've radioed ahead to headquarters; a cell is being prepared for the prisoner as we speak, sir," a familiar voice said as Benjamin followed his grandpa up the rear loading ramp of one of the Plumber trucks.

"Nice job, Cadet," Max replied as he lowered Vilgax's unconscious body into the truck's containment cell, thus giving Benjamin a clear view of the mystery cadet.

"Greetings, I am Cadet Rook Blonko," the young revonnahgander said with a courteous smile.

"H-hi!" Benjamin said, now face-to-face with his own universes Rook Blonko. And after meeting Rook 23 and hearing about Rook 10,000, Benjamin was starting to feel a little awkward. "So...you know my grandpa?"

Rook nodded his head. "Indeed. Maxwell Tennyson is the Magister of Earth: the commanding officer of all Plumbers operating on Earth."

"Technically, I'm in charge of all Plumber's operations within the Sol system and at least three neighboring systems," Max said with a grin, having activated the containment cell's force field. "I've also taken Cadet Rook as my personal apprentice; with training and experience he could, one day, succeed me."

"Cool. So...I guess that means I'll be seeing you around, yeah?" Benjamin asked with a shy smile and a slight blush.

"I would like that very much," Rook Blonko replied, his smile equally shy.

Max could only grin knowingly at the two.

**END VOLUME XIV**


	20. Volume XV

**Episode 53: The Vengers**

Rook moaned deeply as he scooped up a spoonful of the strange orange squares in his bowl and munched on them with a beaming expression of happiness. "Thank you, Beloved," he said around his food, "for agreeing to have lunch where I want to for a chance." Rook froze and winced as he realized just how harsh that sounded. "Not that you've never asked me what I'd like to eat, but..."

"Nope, nope, nope, don't pussy-foot around me, Blonko," Ben teasingly chided, grabbing Rook's spoon and waving at him in scolding manner. "I realize that I've always dragged you off to my favorite restaurants and not once considered going to place of your choosing." Ben then smiled in embarrassment. "Plus, I sorta was hoping I'd learn to cook amber-ogia for you personally, but after Mom saw the state of the kitchen after I tried experimenting with the stuff, I figured it was easier this way."

Rook smiled warmly, heartened at the effort Ben had tried to put forth, no matter the result. "Still, I am grateful that we could go out on this pleasant excursion, Beloved," Rook said as he smiled jubilantly at Ben. "My Heart's Flame on one side and large bowl of amber-ogulash on the other; I could not be happier."

"Well then, if you're happy I'm happy, Babe," Ben said as he scooped up some of the amber-ogulash and fed it to Rook, grinning at the moans Rook made. "Careful with those sounds you're making," he teased, "we don't want people getting the wrong idea."

Rook's response was to grab Ben's hand and suck on the fingers that had become covered with the amber-ogulash sauce.

"Perhaps you would prefer to hear verbal expressions of my appreciation of both the local delicacy and the amber-ogulash in a more private setting?" Rook asked with a single brow raised in challenge.

"You are a baaaaaad kitty-cat, Rook Blonko," Ben chuckled.

"This is a public market, gentlemen, not a brothel!" Mr. Baumann chided from behind the counter, but he didn't mean it of course. While it was true that Mr. Baumann disapproved of Ben's nigh irresponsible use of the Omnitrix, it was not true that he disapproved of Ben's and Rook's relationship, or their PDA (though, he would prefer if they would tone it down a bit).

Ben and Rook both chuckled sheepishly, but leaned in close before Ben's attention was grabbed by a poking at his elbow.

"Mr. Tennyson, can I have your autograph?" J-NE, the kineceleran child Ben often hung out with, asked, holding up a notepad.

"What? Playing soccer and being seen with me ain't enough?" Ben teased the little girl alien, rubbing her on the top of her pink hat with a chuckle as he signed the notepad.

"Oh, that's great too. But one of Ester's cousins wanted it, and you know how they don't like going to far from the hot-spot," she explained, rolling on her balled feet, happy to have gotten the signature.

"Well, J-NE, tell Ester I said hi," Ben requested before Rook looked over his shoulder at the alien girl.

"And tell Argit, that those rumors of Deefus Veeblepister and I are not true. Furhtermore, inform him that he cannot sell fabricated stories of us to the Extranet," Rook requested to the alien-girl, who nodded and sped off.

Ben and Rook were about to return to their meal when they heard a small voice with a bit of a slur exclaim, "Wow! You really are him!"

Ben and Rook glanced down to see a cute puffer-fish alien boy beaming up at him and Rook.

"Your Ben Tennyson! And your Rook Blonko, his boyfriend!" the boy gushed.

"Is that  _all_  I am to the public?" Rook asked with a slight hurt look to Ben, who chuckled and patted him on the cheek.

"There, there," Ben said, before turning to the puffer-boy. "He's also my partner, my back-up, my rock and my fellow hero, you know?"

"Oh, I know that," the boy said. "At least 15 of my friends want to dress up as him for Halloween. Only six are going as you, but only as one of your alien forms."

A choked laugh from behind him caused Ben to swing around and glare daggers at Rook.

"I did not say a thing," Rook said smugly.

Ben's eyes narrowed in warning before turning back to the boy and softening. "So," he said, "what can I do for you? Autograph? Demonstration?"

"A demonstration!" the boy cried. "Turn into Humongasaur! No, Rath! No, Heatblast! Please, please, please?"

"Well, okay, since you said 'please'," Ben said with a smile as he activated the Omnitrix's hard-light control dial.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Mr. Baumann cried as he reached across the counter and grabbed Ben's wrist with a pleading look. "Ben, I've been  _very_  appreciative of how you've kept from destroying my store and paying me back for past damages," Mr. Baumann said. "But if you so much as  _sneeze_  on that watch, I will  _not_  cater yours and Blonko's wedding!"

Ben's eyes went wide at this. "Uh...when did I ever ask you to cater mine and Rook's wedding? We haven't even really sat down with both our parents to discuss the wedding."

Mr. Baumann's frown turned upward ever so slightly in a frown/smug smirk. "Oh, then I suppose you wanted your mother and future mother-in-law to do the cooking, eh?"

"Hell no!" Ben cried before grabbing the alien boy's arm and dragging him along. "Outside. Now," he said almost frantically just before bumping into Bubble Helmet.

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben wasn't too happy to have seen that report Will Harangue had done with Billy, especially as it had been after a session with Atris, which caused his good-mood to depart. It irked him to no end that Billy would stoop so low, and all because he refused to date the shrimp. He was a 16 year old in an 11 year old's body! What sort of future could they have, even if he  _wasn't_  already with Rook?!

As Ben entered the alley where his Tenn-Speed was parked, he failed to notice that he wasn't alone until he heard the last voice he wanted to hear at that moment.

"Ben Tennyson," Billy drawled out as he lifted his shades up to wink at Ben. He was currently in the seat of the Tenn-Speed, reclined in what Ben assumed was meant to be a cool pose. "I see your feline fiance isn't with you? Shameful. Were you mine I would never let you out of my sight, lest I lose you to someone else."

Ben rubbed at his eyes, feeling a migraine coming on. "I'm so not in the mood for this, Willy," Ben said.

"IT'S BILLY!" he shouted, causing both Ben and Mazuma to jump, as he threw his sunglasses to the ground. "BILLY BILLIONS! WHY IS THAT SO HARD FOR YOU TO REMEMBER?!"

"I remember it," Ben huffed out in frustration. "I just don't have time for obsessive stalkers who refuse to accept that I'm with somebody else." And with that, as far as Ben was concerned, the conversation was over. So, he resumed making his way over to the Tenn-Speed. He was stopped, however, when, with a snap of Billy's finger, Mazuma moved to block his path. Ben inwardly seethed at Billy's gall.

"I have a proposition for you," Billy offered.

"Oh Yeah? Well, word of advice? It's best if you didn't kneel; I might lose sight of you," Ben quipped, quickly losing patience with the boy. Honestly, if this were his child, he would have taken a wooden spoon to his bum by now!

"Oh, hahaha," Billy said sarcastically. "You know, you make it  _really_  hard to stay attracted to you, Ben, with that smart-mouth of yours. Is that why Levin left you?"

Mazuma, having calculated the Ben's probable reaction to that statement, moved in front of Billy.

Ben's breath came out as a hiss from between his tightly clenched teeth, his fists were shaking, and his eyes narrowed in venomous hate. "I'd  _really_  watch my words if I were you,  _Nelly_. Or you're gonna find yourself dying at a young age," Ben growled out in anger. "Now, state your business or leave!"

"Very well..." Billy said uncertainly; visibly shaken from this side of Ben. "As a courtesy, I'm making this one time offer to join the Vengers. All you have to do is call off your engagement to Rook Blonko, and admit to the public that you and I are dating and that Rook Blonko was nothing more than a bad choice naively made."

Ben roared in fury as he transformed into Fourarms before rushing Billy, backslapping Mazuma and sending her into the wall of a building as he did. Once he reached Billy, he grabbed him by his throat and slammed him up against the opposite wall of the alley, earning a choked cry of agony from the little genius. "Now you listen, and you listen well you  _little shit_ , because I will  _not_  repeat myself," Fourarms hissed, bringing his face in close to Billy's, "if you  _ever_  speak of my fiance like that again I will not hesitate to put you in a full-body cast! He is  _not_  a  _mistake_! Furthermore, I have no interest in being your little  _trophy_  husband, so get it through your thick skull: I. DON'T. LIKE. YOU!"

"Tennyson!" someone cried from behind, causing Fourarms to turn his head around. The voice belonged to Captain Nemesis who stood with Kangaroo Kommando, both starring at him with equal parts fury, disbelief, and disappointment. "Drop him now!" Nemesis demanded.

Fourarms turned back to Billy and was horrified to find he was starting to turn a little blue in the face. Realizing that he was cutting off the boy's air supply, Fourarms released Billy, who fell to the ground in a semi-conscious heap just as the Omnitrix timed out. Ben stepped back, horrified by what he'd almost done, but slightly satisfied as well. He neither said nor did anything as Billy's teammates, including Mezuma, rushed to Billy's side. As Nemesis picked the boy up, Kommando turned to Ben with a look of righteous fury and hissed, "What is the  _matter_  with you, Tennyson?!"

Ben's response was only to run.

_**-BRoken-** _

Rook was worried when Ben did not show up for their scheduled dinner date after Ben's therapy session, and even more when he refused to answer his worried text and calls. When his cell did finally ring, Rook was confused to find that it was Ben's father instead of Ben himself.

"Rook? You have to come right away!" Carl said frantically.

"Father Carl, what is wrong?" Rook asked, concerned by the tone in his soon-to-be father-in-law's voice.

"It's Ben!" Carl's voice replied, "I think Ben's having another nervous breakdown! He came home in tears, went up to his room, and has refused to come out.

"I will be over as soon as possible, Father Carl," Rook said resolutely.

"Please hurry." Carl said before hanging up.

As soon as Rook got to the Tennyson's house, he jumped out of the Proto-TRUK, ran into the house and up the stairs to Ben's bedroom door where he found Carl and Sandra standing and looking very worried.

"He won't open up, and I'm afraid he'll get hurt!" Sandra cried to Rook, biting her finger nails in worry.

"But he's locked the door, and won't open it," Carl added as he wrapped an arm around Sandra to try to comfort her.

"I see. Forgive me in advance," Rook replied before pulling down his Proto-Tool and shooting the doorknob off the door. With the lock no longer in place, Rook opened the door and walked in.

Ben's room was in it's normal state of chaos with worn clothing left strewn across the floor, as well as snack wrappers and other bits of debris. The only thing out of place in all this was Ben, curled up on his bed, sniffling.

"Beloved?" Rook asked as he walked over to the bed and laid his hand upon Ben's shoulder. He was stunned, though, when Ben flinched from the touch.

"Please...don't," the weak and distressed voice of his fiance whispered.

"Ben, what is wrong?" Rook asked, even more worried than before.

Ben shook his head, not trusting his voice at the moment.

"Please, Ben...do not shut me out," Rook pleaded. "Nothing you say or do could ever make me not love you or care about you. I have been, and always will be, here for you."

A second later Rook's arms and lap were full of sobbing teenager. Surprised at first, but catching on quickly enough, Rook wrapped his arms securely around Ben to make him feel safe. "Shhh," he whispered to Ben, "It is alright. I am here now; as are your Mother and Father. It is okay. Just let it out."

Ben seemed to settle after almost 40 minutes of crying, which then turned into soft sobs and sniffles. Once he was certain Ben had calmed down, Rook pulled back and looked at Ben: his eyes all red, his nose runny, and his face flushed from his tirade.

"I-I...I'm..." Ben tried to say, but hiccuped and let out a sob.

"Shhhh~" Sandra suddenly stepped forward, and crouching down she ran her fingers through Ben's hair soothingly.

"It's alright, Baby, it's alright. Just tell us what's wrong, Sweetie," Sandra soothingly said, leaning in to kiss Ben on the cheek.

Ben took a few minutes to finish collecting himself before telling Rook and his parents what happened...and what he almost did. The four spent hours in Ben's room talking, helping Ben as best they could; even Atris was brought in via a holo-comm to help Ben. It all came down to Billy Billions having pushed all the wrong buttons. It was agreed that Ben would take a sabbatical to keep from interacting with Billy and the Vengers and to reaffirm Ben's belief that he  _was_  the hero and not the villain.

_**-BRoken-** _

Over the course of the following week, the Vengers managed to place themselves upon a high pedestal in the hearts of minds of the citizens of Bellwood. They were effective, efficient, and left no collateral damage. And with Will Harangue's exclusive footage of Ben "violently refusing a generous offer from the Vengers", everyone's opinion was set. Ben was now a pariah in his own home town. His only refuges were his home, Rook's apartment, and Plumber HQ.

Near the end of that fateful week, though, instability began to grow between Billy, Kangaroo Kommando, and Captain Nemesis. Their unspoken chain of command suddenly needed to be put down on paper, but no one was willing to be anything less than the leader. Suddenly, their rescues left behind collateral damage, and their efficiency and effectiveness began to drop. Even Will Harangue was hard-pressed to continue supporting them, despite the millions Billy was lining the corrupt reporter's pockets with.

It all came to a head one afternoon as Ben and Rook laid together on Ben's bed, watching TV. Rook had one hand on the remote, flipping through channels while the other was wrapped around Ben, holding him securely.

A knock at the door announced the arrival of Sandra with snacks, which she brought before the two: a big bowl full of tofu chips and a smaller bowl of hummus. Ben took one look at it, crinkled his nose, and said, "Pass." A slight upturn of his lips giving him away.

Sandra snorted in amusement and replied, "I was wondering how long it would take you to finally say no to one of my snacks. I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Sweetie." She then knelt down and pulled her son into an embrace; both mother and son smiling.

That was the moment Rook halted on a news report of an all-out ware between the Vengers. Captain Nemesis and Kangaroo Kommando were laying siege to Billions Tower from the comfort of Nemesis' own tower. Only a handful of Plumbers had been called in to, if nothing else, evacuate the area. But to quell the two warring entities was beyond the Plumbers' current resources.

Sandra turned from the TV to Ben and saw a whole other war wage within her son. He obviously felt it was his duty to end this, he was the only one who could, but he still felt guilt at having taken things too far with Billy and feared he might do it again. "I know what your thinking," she said softly, causing Ben to jump slightly out of his internal conflict.

"What? You can read minds now?" he asked with the slightest of grins, the cheeky brat.

Sandra grinned in return and said, "I mean, you're practically broadcasting your thoughts through your eyes. You want to go and put a stop to their in-fighting and prove that you're still the good guy. But on the other hand, you're afraid that if you go you'll have that incident thrown back at your face and wind up having another meltdown."

Ben looked anywhere but at his mother and fiance. After a moment of silence, Ben asked, "So...what do I do?"

"Sorry, kiddo," Sandra answered with a sad smile, "I'm afraid the only one who can answer that is you."

Ben huffed and said, "Great," sarcastically.

"But...I do have some good news," Sandra added. "No matter what choice you make: face your fears or hide from them, your father and I, and certainly Rook, will support you 100%."

Ben gave his mother a withering look as he said, "Well, when you put my choices like  _that_..."

_**-BRoken-** _

When Ben and Rook got to the towers they could clearly see and hear the laser fire shooting from Nemesis's tower to Billion's Tower, and vice versa. Immediately, the two rushed into the lobby and got into an elevator that would take them to the top. They stood side by side, not saying anything until Ben chose to speak up.

"Blonko?" Ben started.

"Yes, Beloved?" Rook answered.

"I...I just wanted to say, I'm...I'm glad your here..." Ben said,, rubbing his hands together.

"And I am glad to be here too," Rook responded kindly.

"No..." Ben said after a moment, the word confusing his fiance. "No, you don't..." Ben crossed his arms, something in his voice that Rook had never heard there before. "I'm glad...because I love you, and you love me even when I'm at my most worst...my most helpless and pathetic. I'm extremely grateful to have you in my life."

Ben turned and leaned into Rook, wrapping his arms around Rook tightly, burying his face in Rook's chest. "Thank you, Rook. I am thankful to have you and for all you do for me," Ben said through his sniffles, "and I know your always saying I don't have to say it, but I have to...'communication is key', as Atris always says..."

Ben pulled back to look up at Rook with a happy smile. "So, thank you, Rook Blonko: love of my life. You hold me up, keep me steady, keep me happy, and keep me  _loved,_ " Ben said as he tightened his arms around Rook. "You're the  _smartest_  decision I have ever made and the best thing that's ever happened to me, more so than the Omnitrix. Thank you, I love you, and I hope you know I'll never stop trying to make you proud and give you a good life here on Earth."

Rook was floored, but immensely happy at the Ben's speech. Some people said Ben took Rook for granted, but here he was thanking him for everything he'd ever done. And promising to do his best to make sure Rook knew it. Rook couldn't think of anything else to do, except cup Ben's cheeks and beam at him with happy tears in his eyes. "You realize, of course, I am going to have to kiss you senseless, and if we get caught unaware by the enemy, it will be because of you, Benjamin Kirby Tennyson," Rook teasingly scolded, earning a loud laugh from Ben.

The two then leaned closer and kissed deeply, Rook's hands tight on Ben's lower back, rubbing circles and just trying to feel as much of his 'Beloved' as possible. Ben hugged Rook equally tight, and made slight happy humming sounds against his blue-fuzzball's lips.

"Now..." Ben said as he pulled back, putting a kiss to his finger and pressing that finger to Rook's lips. "...let's get our game faces on, get serious, and get to Hero Time."

Ben's words earned an amused chuckle from Rook. "Lead the way," he said, "and I shall follow. Even to world's end."

A chime sounded and the elevator doors opened to chaos. Billy, Kommando, Nemesis, and Mazuma were all in a pile, each trying to tear the other to shreds (or, in Mazuma's case, keep Billy from being torn to shreds). Had the circumstances been different, Ben was certain he would have found this amusing. Instead he was exasperated.

"Alright, you four!" he cried. "Cut it out now!"

The four stopped and stared at Ben.

Ben took a deep breath and said, "I would like to apologize to you, Billy, for my rage-induced actions. Regardless of whether or not you induced it, it wasn't very heroic of me to choke you."

"So...does this mean you'll go out with me now?" Billy asked, untangling himself from the dog-pile while Mazuma forcefully right Nemesis and Kommando.

"No," Ben said, frowning.

Billy's eyes narrowed as he hissed, "Apology not accepted. Now beat it, Tennyson, before I file a restraining order!"

Ben clenched his teeth at the little shit's words but relaxed when he felt Rook's hand upon his shoulder.

"I would reconsider accepting Ben's apology," Rook said, his tone making it clear that this was not a request but a demand. "Despite your inexperience in the realm of not getting what you want, it is highly unfair to make your acceptance of Ben's apology conditional."

"Yeah, I mean what kind of hero do you think you are? What kind of hero do any of you think you are?" Ben asked. "You fight amongst yourselves, you don't accept sincere apologies..."

"Perhaps you are right in questioning us," Kommando said. "It seems we strayed from our true path."

"Yes!" Nemesis declared. "We don't make a  _good_  team of super- _heroes_."

Billy grinned sinisterly as he said, "We make a  _great_  team of super- _villains_!"

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben somehow felt lighter than ever. His reputation was cleared, his fans were back, Billy had run out of town, and his relationship with Rook had never been stronger. Everything was right and good with the world.

Once the police had been briefed on the situation, Ben and Rook fled to Rook's apartment for some alone time. Ben relaxed on the couch, dropping tofu chips one by one into Rook's mouth. Rook was highly amused by this, but his smile slipped when he saw Ben's faraway look.

"How is it that despite saving your reputation, healing you of your distressed psychological state, and saving Bellwood from yet another threat, that you are still deep in discontent?" Rook asked worriedly.

Ben's gaze returned to Rook, along with an uneasy smile, as he replied, "It's not discontent. I'm happy, really. It's just...you do realize that this will be our life: fighting villains and the scars of my past, right? Are you ready to deal with this sort of thing almost constantly, and stay by my side and still love me?"

Rook sat upright and clasped Ben's hands in his own, pulling him into a warm hug. "There is not a force in the Universe that can stop me from loving you, My Heart's Flame," Rook vowed intensely. "I will be here...so long as you put up with my peculiar family, traditions, and taste in food," Rook finished with a grin.

Ben chuckled at this, pulling back to look up at Rook and thumb at his chin playfully. "Deal," he said.

* * *

**Episode 54: Cough It Up**

"Oh, good! You have everything under control!" Jimmy said, running up to Ben.

Ben stared at Jimmy incredulously before narrowing his eyes and saying, "Jimmy, what have I told you about visiting Undertown without supervision? Don't you remember what happened last time?"

"Yeah, but the Forever Knights are still licking their wounds from that. Besides, I'm 13 years old; I can totally take care of myself!" Jimmy said somewhat defensively.

Ben sighed, seeing that this wasn't going to get him anywhere. Time for a new approach. "Jimmy, you know how much I care about you, right? You're practically my little little brother! But you  _have_  to be careful! A lot of the guys I take down on a daily basis know about you. If you're not careful, you'll get used against me." As Ben spoke, he placed both his hands on Jimmy's shoulders in an affectionate manner.

Jimmy's smiled resignedly and replied, "Yeah, I know. But you're just one guy, and you need someone to help sniff out trouble for you to solve. For instance, there's been a sharp increase in bounty hunters here in Undertown in the last day or two; several shops have gotten shaken down. They're searching for something." As Jimmy spoke, he pointed out three nearby instances of bounty hunters shaking down civilians.

As Ben took note of each instance, his shoulders sagged a bit. Try to go down to Undertown for discount socks made of alien silk that was far superior to any terran silk and all he got for his troubles was a new case to solve. "Okay, I'll call the Plumbers and have them send someone down to continue the investigation. I've still got some errands to run, but I need you to go on home, okay?"

"But-"

"Home. Now," Ben said sternly before turning away and helping the owner of the sock stall to gather his merchandise.

Jimmy was torn. As much as he loved Ben like a big-brother and respected him he couldn't help but see that an opportunity was staring him in the face! It would take an hour or more before any Plumbers could get down here, and it looked like things were quieting down in this block. Maybe if he went and did his own investigating it would prove to Ben that he wasn't a kid and that he could be useful in future endeavors! So, gathering his courage, Jimmy chased off after Kraab.

_**-BRoken-** _

Bounty hunters.

They came in all shapes, sizes, colors, IQ's, and prices. Though, their price wasn't always a sign of their skill; just because they were expensive didn't mean they were the best! Still, they all had their uses. And Psyphon needed something found.

His most precious possession had been meant as an engagement gift for his new master: Bill Gacks. It was to be a sign of his love for the man, and his dream of ruling the universe side-by-side with him. And all it took was some relatively inexpensive smuggling using the last of his favors garnered from years of serving that tentacled brute who could never compare to the human who consumed Psyphon's every thought.

But that damnable  _rat_!

Now Psyphon had to get it back from that low-life who was making a decent living off of making everyone in Undertown think he was legit when he was really just as dirty as him! And the clock was ticking...

But this small one in white armor looked promising. Very promising indeed...

_**-BRoken-** _

"...and sure enough there's Sixsix and his brother and sister at one stall, and Thunderpig at another. Each of them shaking down the shop owner and searching for something," Ben said to a hologram of Grandpa Max and Magister Patelliday. For the last five minutes he'd been briefing the two on the incident Jimmy had brought to his attention whilst he and Rook sat at one of the Mr. Smoothie's tables.

"Hmmm, that's got trouble written all over it," Patelliday commented.

"Agreed," Max said. "And what about Sunder? Did he say anything about what he or any of the others might be after?"

Ben shook his head in the negative. "No."

"This could mean that whatever they are after is illegal, and therefore worth a great deal on the black market," Rook surmised.

"A strong possibility," Max said. "Okay, I'm sending a team of scouts to tail some of the bounty hunters and investigate along the way. In the meantime, Ben, I want you and Rook on stand-by. Once we get an idea of what we're looking for or where it is it'll be up to you two to intervene."

"Understood," Ben and Rook said simultaneously, grinning at each other afterwards and earning similar grins from Max and Patelliday before the transmission cut-off. Ben leaned back in his seat and took a long draw from the straw of his smoothie, hoping the influx of fruit-flavored slush would help calm his nerves. Unfortunately, Jimmy chose that moment to call out for him. Startled, Ben fell backwards and nearly choked on his smoothie. Rook quickly came to his side and helped him back on his feet and made sure that he was breathing properly.

"Jimmy..." Ben wheezed, "...I thought...I told you...to go home!"

Jimmy grinned sheepishly and replied, "Yeah, well, about that? I sorta did the opposite. But it doesn't matter, cause I've got a  _huge_  lead in the case: the Bounty Hunters are looking for Argit!"

"What!?" Ben exclaimed.

"It's true!" Jimmy exclaims. "I heard it all from the rafters of the Black Hole!"

Ben narrowed his eyes at Jimmy, causing the boy to gulp in fear as he realized his faux pas.

"I didn't mean to tell you that part," Jimmy nervously tittered.

"Jimmy," Ben all but growled, "I thought you would have learned from the last time the dangers of investigating these things. It must have been arrogance or pure foolishness that made you go into such a shady establishment and eavesdrop on such shady dealings! Do you realize how lucky you are to still be alive?!"

"Indeed," Rook said, frowning in disapproval, "had your position been compromised, I have no doubt you would have been either tortured or killed. These men that you tracked do not care that you are a child; they will not think twice about causing you serious harm."

"Yeah...but...," Jimmy tried to reason, but he knew deep down that they were right. One wrong move and it wouldn't have been a close call like it had been with the Forever Knights; no one would have intervened. Sighing in defeat he said, "I'll go home."

Ben shook his head and smiled, pulling Jimmy into a hug. "You know I'm not trying to be an over-protective mother-hen, right? I'm just trying to keep you out of trouble, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Jimmy said with a rueful smile.

"I appreciate you trying to help," Ben continued. "You may have actually just given us the lead we needed to stay one-step ahead of them."

"So...I did a good thing, then?" Jimmy asked hopefully.

"Well..." Ben paused, unsure how to answer that.

"I'll just go gather more intel and report back!" Jimmy exclaimed, popping out of Ben's grasp and running off. "You won't be sorry, Ben!"

Jimmy's words surprised Rook; they were the  _exact_  opposite of what Ben had meant.

But Ben was beyond surprised. He was dumb-struck and furious! "Ji-"  _~cough~_ "JIMMY!" Ben yelled out "GET-"  _~cough~_ "-BACK HERE!"  _~cough~_

Rook quickly patted Ben on the back and offered him some water. Once Ben had gulped it down the coughing stopped and Ben could finally breath. But the look of relief on Ben's face didn't last long as it was replaced by fury.

"I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" Ben shouts, crushing the cup in his hand. "That was NOT what I wanted him to do, and if ANYTHING happens to him...!" Ben dared not finish that sentence.

"Be calm, Beloved. Jimmy is very resourceful and clever. He can keep out of trouble," Rook assured his heart's flame. "Also, we do know where he is heading: Argit's office."

"Right." Ben said, calming down as Rook's reasoning took hold. "With luck, Ester will be there and will be able to keep an eye on that boy. Seriously, where does he get this from, just running off into danger when an adult tells him 'no'?!"

Rook grinned knowingly and replied, "I just don't know."

Any response from Ben was cut off by a burst of green lighting.

_**-BRoken-** _

After being informed by Spanner about Argit, which only served to reinforce just how good of an investigator Jimmy was, Ben, Rook, and Spanner quickly went to Argit's office in Undertown. Unfortunately they found Argit in the sickeningly sweet position of being fed some kind of alien cuisine by Ester while the two made lovey-dovey eyes at one another. Ben cleared his throat to bring their attention to him.

"Pardon the intrusion, Ester, Argit," Rook said, "but we are here on important business."

"Yeah, rumor has it that you may have stolen something of black market worth from a very dangerous individual," Ben explained, his arms crossed in front of his chest and his glare at Argit showing he meant business.

"Uhhh..." Argit faltered, looking a tad nervous, as Ester frown at hearing this from Ben. "Ben, buddy, friend, poor sweet boy who I wished the utmost well and hoped he'd wind up with Rook..." he grinned nervously, "...this sounds like a whole lot of crazy talk. Why would you assume I know anything about that?"

"It saves time," Ben answered with a smirk, "and don't try to act like you were our biggest supporter; you barely had anything to say about Rook and I.

"Indeed. Sister Gwen has been, and always shall be, our biggest supporter," Rook pointed out.

Spanner slammed his hands onto the desk as Ester walked up beside Argit, eyeing him suspiciously as he jumped at Spanner's loud gesture. "Psyphon said that whoever took out those guards used a poison quill," Spanner said as Ester reached over and plucked a quill from Argit's head.

"Yeow!" Argit yelped, rubbing at the spot as Ester twirled the quill between her fingers, giving Argit a heated glare the whole time.

"Gee, I wonder who we know who has poison quills and likes to steal stuff," Ester stated casually before focusing her attention solely on her boyfriend. "Argit?"

"Babe, you know that Psyphon can't be trusted. I mean, look how quickly he turned back to crime even after settling down with a nice boyfriend with a stable career that doesn't involve conquests! Unlike him, I would  _never_  disappoint my sweetheart sugar-plum!" Argit stated proudly, turning up his snout to the boys.

"Argit," Ester growled in a warning tone as she grabbed his muzzle, pulling it down to lean over and glare into his eyes. "Let me remind you that I'm your  _only_  girlfriend and the only one you've  _ever_  dated."

"Hmph...outside of a brothel..." Argit muttered to himself.

"Wait...Psyphon? Wait, wait, wait..." Ben rubbed his face in confusion. "I thought he turned over a new leaf! That he was still in his cell doing repair work on machines to get a lift on his sentence?"

"He escaped no more than a week ago," Rook explained. "It is why the Plumbers are currently so busy; they are trying to update the security system and track Psyphon's movements since his escape." Rook then tilted his head to the side like a confused kitten as he asked, "Do you not skim the inbox in your Plumbers badge?"

Ben blinked in surprise and replied, "I have a inbox?"

Rook simply sighed in amused defeat and ruffled Ben's hair affectionately.

"There, you see?" Argit points out. "Psyphon can't even be trusted to stay in his cell, so obviously he can't be trusted to speak the truth!"

"Argit, much like the times you've brought me to orgasm, I can count the number of times you've been  _totally_  honest on  _one_ hand," Ester said flatly.

"You have 39 fingers on  _one hand_?!" Argit quipped with a dirty grin, making Ester blush as she holds up two fingers.

"Oh, come on, it was more then that, Babe!" Argit argued. "And I'm a legitimate business man now. I provide your people with heaters, magma, and thermal suits to keep them roasted, scorched, and warm even on a winter day! I'm a pillar of the community! I even got a reward, remember?" At this, Argit gestured towards a framed certificate on the wall.

"This is a gift certificate...for a car wash," Rook deadpanned after inspecting the certificate while giving Argit a look that clearly said how little Rook thought of him.

"Because I'm a loyal customer...and because I got sexy, alien girls to help wash the cars as I soaked them with my hose," Argit defended, not noticing the glare Ester was throwing his way. "Regardless, I am on the up and up!"

"Argit, I swear to the Proth-" Ester groaned but was cut off by the office's front door exploding and granting access to a well-known bounty hunter.

"KRAAB?!" Argit exclaimed in shock. "Wha-when did you get out?"

"On the up, eh?" Ester asked accusingly as she crossed her arms, glaring at Argit. "It's too bad that, much like in the bedroom, you can't  _stay up_!"

Argit's ear's drooped at this as he hissed/whispered to Ester, "Babe, not in front of Ben and the Evil Space mercenary!"

"ENOUGH!" Kraab growled harshly. "If I wanted to hear of your bedroom exploits and debauchery I would have sought out the tabloid reports on the Extranet!" The crab-like bounty hunter then pointed his over-sized crab claw at Argit in a threatening manner and said, "Now, Argit...COUGH. IT. UP!"

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben, Argit, Ester and Rook hid in an alleyway as Six-Six, Seven-Seven and Eight-Eight ran past them down the street.

"You now, I really do appreciate you taking my side like this," Argit said to Rook and Ben gratefully.

"You'd better," Ester warned him. "Because we're about the ONLY ones who do, and that's marginal at best."

"Awww. Baby, come on. I treat you good, and I help out your people all the time! Would a  _really_  bad guy do that?" Argit coo-ed at his girlfriend, trying to worm his way back into her good graces.

"Psst...hey, Ben, in here! I found a place to hide!"

The group turned to see Jimmy peeking out of a door leading into the warehouse next to the alley. Ben sputtered in disbelief before he was yanked inside by Rook, followed by Argit and Ester. Once everyone was in without having bee found out, Rook carefully but quickly shut the door behind him.

"I didn't have much time, I hope this will do," Jimmy offered as Rook and Ester scoped out the building to ensure it was empty and safe. That done, Rook stood by Ben's side as he crossed his arms, leveling Jimmy with a mam-bear-ish glare.

"Whaaaaaaat?" Jimmy whined, shifting under Ben's disappointed stare.

"Don't 'Whaaaaaaat' me, Jimmy Jones. How many times did I tell you to leave Undertown?" Ben asked his surrogate little brother.

"Twice," Jimmy grumbled.

"And have you done so?" Rook asked, supporting his beloved in the disciplining of the young Mr. Jones.

"No, but that's because I knew you'd be in danger!" Jimmy cried, flailing his arms as he did, trying desperately to prove why he should be here.

"And you think the best course of action is to run  _toward the danger_?!" Ben barked at Jimmy incredulously. "Jimmy, you don't have super powers, or alien tech, or Proto-Armor to protect you!"

"Am I missing something?" Argit asked as he stood on tiptoes to look out the windows warily.

"Shhhh!" Ester hushed him, seeing how genuinely mad Ben was at the moment.

"Did that Spanner kid put you up to this?" Ben asked, frowning. "Because if he did I won't tolerate having him around you, Jimmy."

"I...what?" Jimmy frowned in confusion. "Spanner? I don't know any 'Spanner'."

"Well, from the way he was talking, he  _definitely_  knows you," Ben snapped, stepping closer to Jimmy, who stood his ground, knowing that backing away would just make Ben even madder.

"Jimmy, tell us the truth: is this Spanner person a close friend, installing thoughts of reckless abandon, horseplay, and solicitation around establishments frequented by characters of questionable moral values?" Rook Blonko asked Jimmy point blank.

"Huh?" Jimmy asked.

Ben rubbed his face in annoyance at the confusion Rook's words had caused. "Is this Spanner someone you care about, are dating, or are just a really close friend...someone you look up to?" Ben clarified.

Jimmy stared at Ben blankly, before letting a grin spread across his face as he shook his head. "Ohhh, I get it," Jimmy said around a chuckle, walking forward to hug a confused Ben around the waist. "But you don't have to worry, you'll always be my idol and Big-Brother-Numero-Uno."

Ben looked from the top of Jimmy's head to an amused Rook, giving his fiance a 'WTF?' look. "Jimmy..." Ben huffed, but patted the back of Jimmy's head affectionately.

"Any of you guys know how long this might be?" Ester asked, looking frustrated now that the distraction of a cute brotherly moment was over.

"Simmer down, Babe. I'm in no rush to be 'bountied'," Argit said before fumbling a bit as Ester stared at him suspiciously. "But since I'm  _innocent_  there's no real reason for there to  _be_ a bounty on my head, eheh..."

Ben pulled away from Jimmy and looked around the warehouse, his stomach grumbling from all the exercise.

"Ughh...Mom's tofu breakfast  _so_  does not help fill my belly," Ben groaned in hunger.

"Oh, I know a great place for chilli-fries!" Jimmy called out as he ran to the door. "Back in a flash!"

"No, Jimmy!" Ben shouted as he turned around, but Jimmy was already out of the door. "You will  _not_  be  _back_! Not if you know what's good for you, Young Man!" But seeing as Jimmy obviously wasn't going to listen to him Ben bowed his head in defeat before looking up at Rook. "That sounded imposing and slightly threatening, right?"

Rook blinked and tilted his head. "Sorry, Beloved. My head was in the atmosphere," he said, hoping Ben would buy it.

"It's..." Ben sighed and waved his hand in a dismissing gesture. "Never mind. But something's on your mind, right?"

Rook hummed noncommittally.

"What?" Ben asked.

"Well, have you noticed that we do not see Jimmy and Spanner at the same time?" Rook asked Ben.

Ben narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Rook. "Is that a trick question? Like, did Atris ask you to ask me these things, to see if I was still coherent?"

"Truly, my Heart's Flame. You are missing the obvious and being slightly... preferential... in the fact it is Jimmy I refer to," Rook replied.

Ben looked at Rook quizzically before asking, "Are you seriously accusing my Jimmy of being Spanner?"

" _Your_  Jimmy?" Ester remarked with an amused grin, turning to sit on the edge of a crate.

"Yes,  _my_  Jimmy," Ben responded in a mock-defensive tone. "What? I use it as a term of endearment; it's always ' _my_  Blonko', and now ' _my_  Jimmy'. I got a soft spot for him; he reminds me of me when I was a little boy."

"Minus the obsession with chilli fries, smoothies, and associating with alien-hybrid bad boys," Rook remarked with an amused smirk. Unfortunately, he was standing right next to Ben, who took it upon himself to reach over and pinch Rook's butt, earning a loud yell of surprise from Rook. Argit spun around in surprise while Ester started giggling uncontrollably.

"Well, it seems my taste in men still needs improving," Ben taunted with a saucy wink at Rook who rubbed his behind, blinking owlishly at Ben. "And just so you know, I didn't  _always_  like smoothies. Remember when my 10 year old self and I traded bodies?"

Any response Rook might have made was stopped by the sound of a crowd of alien bounty hunters passing by. Argit quickly ducked under the window until the crowd had passed, but when he rose again he found himself covered by the shadows of three stern individuals (one of which he was dating).

"Alright, Argit, what is it you have that those bounty hunters are after?" Ester asked, pinning her boyfriend with a serious stare.

"Babe, come on! I never..." Argit started, but the side door of the warehouse behind the three cut him off.

"Chilli fries, anyone?" the voice of spanner spoke up, holding up a bag with a greasy bottom.

Rook glanced over to Ben and whispered, "Do you see what I mean?"

Ben merely narrowed his eyes and said, "Coincidence."

_**-BRoken-** _

Spanner leapt out of the broken crate and declared, "I'll go after them!" before flying up through the hole in the roof that Eighteight, Sevenseven, and Sixsix used.

Rook, Ben, and Ester quickly ran up under the hole and looked up, surprised to find Jimmy's worried face looking down at them.

"Guys, we've got to move! They found us!" Jimmy cried.

Ben was floored. This was looking less and less like coincidence and more like honest possibility. "Your timing is uncanny," he said.

"Thanks!" Jimmy said, smiling in appreciation of the comment before ducking out of the hole.

Rook looked to Ben, his eyes relaying an "I told you so" to Ben. "Beloved, it is becoming more and more difficult to deny. I truly believe Jimmy is Spanner!"

"No. No. Absolutely not. Well, maybe. Possibly. I don't know. You think?" Ben said in one breath. "But he can't be, he just can't!"

Ester shook her head. "Sorry, Ben, but this is getting scary with all these coincidences. And now Jimmy's appearing only a second or two after Spanner disappears! Next he'll be strutting in  _just as_  Spanner struts out!"

"My baby brother doesn't  _strut_! He knows better than that," Ben declared, incensed at the insinuation of his Jimmy's character.

Ester rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said, "we'll shelve this for now. Let's get to Jimmy and see if he saw where they're taking Argit." Her face darkened as she said, "That rat better hope those bounty hunters finish him off before I get my hands on him."

_**-BRoken-** _

"You did it!" Jimmy cried, casually walking up to Ben and Rook while eating peanuts...much like the peanuts in the bowl that Spanner had when he got the Techadon troop ship. "Haha, I knew you could pull it off, big bro!"

Ben turned to look at Jimmy, this time  _really_  looking at him. He was maybe an inch shorter than Spanner, but then Jimmy's shoes had thin soles. Also, Jimmy's build wasn't slimmer than Spanner's, though maybe Spanner's suit had some padding in it. Honestly, it could go either way in the question of whether or not Jimmy was Spanner. Still... "Do you have something you'd like to tell us, Jimmy?" Ben asked with a slightly accusatory tone.

Jimmy gulped and turned to Ben with a sheepish grin before sighing in defeat and answering, "Alright, you got me. I know you told me to wait outside once you realized that getting me to go home was pointless since I have a professional responsibility to report on things like this, but I was actually hiding in the vents the whole time." He lowered his head and asked, "How much trouble am I in?"

Ben quirked a brow at this, but snorted in amusement before pulling Jimmy into a hug. Of course his baby brother Jimmy wasn't Spanner! How ridiculous would that be?!

* * *

**Episode 55: The Rooter's of all Evil**

It was supposed to be a nice Saturday morning: Ben and Rook had gone to Plumber's HQ to simply hang out and chat with Grandpa Max, Patelliday, Molly Gunther, and a couple of the other rookie Plumbers. The rookies were eager to get more acquainted with Ben and Rook, and asked various questions regarding the couple's plans for the future.

Ben was feeling really content and happy, especially given that he and Rook had finished a session the day before with Atris, and so far things seemed to have settled. Excusing himself from the group to use the restroom, he walked off thinking, ' _I could use more days like these._ '

But all the peace and serenity was brought to a screeching halt by an alarm going off. As Ben stepped out of the restroom he was nearly swept away by the tide of people running down the hallway. He had no clue what was going on and felt nervous when he saw Grandpa Max, Patelliday, and the others run by with weapons in hand.

"Grandpa?" Ben asked, looking at Max with a nervous frown.

Max and Rook stopped and looked anxiously at Ben. "The Null Void Projector just turned on by itself," Max explained. "We might need you, Ben."

"Come, Beloved," Blonko added as he took Ben's hand and pulled him down the hallway.

Soon, the whole of Plumber's Headquarters were in the Null Void projector room, adjacent to the prison, being greeted to the disturbing sight of the swirling, dark-red glowing portal to the Null Void. Every Plumber in the room had their blasters trained on the portal, only to falter in surprise as Max's old partner, Phil, stepped through the Portal.

"Hey, Maxy, what's shaking?" Phil greeted in a mocking cheery tone.

Following Phil came an NRG/human man and a Jetray/human woman. After them came one final figure.

He possessed pale orange skin, and a large head. His eyebrows and beard were pointed, he had spikes on the sides of his head, his eyes were blood red, and he had a red crystal in the middle of his head. On each hand were three clawed fingers.

All of them, Phil, Jet-Girl, NR-Guy and Orange Head had the same armor on...black Proto-Tech armor.

"Gentlemen, ladies, we are the Rooters, and this base is now under our absolute control," the orange headed man proclaimed smugly.

"Like we'd let that happen," Ben replied as he prepared to activate the Omnitrix.

"Plumbers, stand down!" Max shouted out, his hand grabbing onto Ben's wrist, covering the Omnitrix with a tightness that startled Ben.

"Grandpa?" Ben asked, looking up at his Grandfather in confusion.

"That's an order," Max's voice was low, steady, but heavy with fear.

"Beloved, please listen to Magister Tennyson," Rook pleaded, fearful of causing an incident.

"A wise decision," the orange-headed guy proclaimed with a pleased smile. "I am here to collect Kevin Levin."

At this, Rook's face broke into an angry frown as Ben and Max gaped in confusion. "What has  _he_  done now? I will gladly run him down and bring him in for you...mostly alive...if you wish," Rook proclaimed, earning a stern glare from Grandpa Max.

"My, such a  _generous_  offer," the orange head said before chuckling. "Allow me to introduce myself: I am Proctor Servantis." He then gestured to the Jetray like girl and the NRG guy. "This is Agent Swift and Magister Leander, and I believe you're already familiar with Agent Billings."

"Yes, we are acquainted," Rook hissed, remembering clearly how Phil had tried to use Ben as a food source/battery.

"Well, since you're so willing to help retrieve Levin for us, Agent Blonko-"

"Now, just a lint-picking minute, Mr. 'Highfalutin'," Patelliday interrupted, stepping forward, "I don't care that Kevin isn't exactly the most welcome person here, but High Authority or not, don't expect to come in here and expect us to roll over and-"

Servantis cut off Patelliday mid-rant by using his telepathic probe on the pisciss volann. Everyone, minus the Rooters, gasped in alarm as Patelliday's eyes bulged wide and his mouth gaped in horror.

"I...YOUR IN MY HEAD!" Patelliday whimpered/screamed in pain.

"Don't struggle, it demeans us both," Servantis mocked before grinning derisively. "Besides, we wouldn't want to spill the beans, in front of Magister Tennyson, about your little secret. Do we?"

"I...n...nooo!" Patelliday cried, looking truly terrified, before finally going limp as the probe was retracted.

"MAGISTER PATELLIDAY!" Molly cried out in alarm as she dashed forward to catch the Magister.

Fearing for his friend and partner, Max ran over with a concerned frown before leveling Servantis with a harsh glare which went unnoticed by the Proctor.

"Well, that one doesn't know Levin's whereabouts, so I gather he's not on the premises," Servantis said, looking around with a glower. "Where then...?" he asked in an impatient hiss.

"Why don't I send you to hell!" Ben growled as he popped up the dial on his watch. "That's where you both belong!"

At Ben's threatening words and gesture of using his Omnitrix, Leander put his fingers to his head and Swift energized the end of her tail; both ready to attack.

"Ben, I know hearing about Kevin upsets you, but it's unwise to be hostile to them," Grandpa Max scolded, putting his hands over Ben's wrist again. "And even if we wanted to, the Plumbers can't do anything."

Ben was filled with frustration at this. Something wasn't adding up and he hated being left out of the loop "What are you talking about, who are these guys?" Ben asked.

"The Rooters are a black-ops Plumbers unit, My Heart's Flame," Rook whispered to Ben, as he scooted closer to ensure that Ben didn't try to attack them.

"They're red spots...err...black spots?" Ben asked in confusion.

"Not exactly. They answer only to the High Protectorate," Max explained as he gestured to Servantis. "Only the Magistrata outranks the Proctor. As Plumbers, our hands are tied."

"Quite right, Magister," Servantis agreed, nodding his head in approval. "Now, to continue the interview." He looked around before pointing at Jerry, the nice mustached alien-mole guy who sometimes gave Rook relationship advice as he himself had been dating Molly Gunther for 3 years.

"You," Servantis said in a low, sinister tone.

"ME?!" Jerry chittered in alarm, dropping his blaster in surprise. His girlfriend gasped from her position holding up Patelliday.

"Don't fight him, Jerry," Patelliday weakly called out. "He'll curl your mustache!"

Molly grit her teeth angrily, hating the feeling of helplessness. Though it didn't stop her from glaring hatefully at Servantis as the Proctor put a finger to Jerry's forehead and initiated the telepathic probe. Immediately the mustached Plumber's eyes bulged and his mustache frizzed and curled.

"Ooohh," Jerry moaned before passing out.

"Jerry!" Molly cried as she left Patelliday's side in favor of being by her boyfriend's side.

"Ah, this one has seen the files," Servantis said as he turned to level a barely concealed expression of disgust at Molly. "It appears that Agent Levin's Plumber badge has been reassigned to one Agent Molly Gunther. A human female...and this one's lover."

Molly bared her teeth at Servantis. "Yeah, and she's got a few choice words for the Proctor."

Servantis paid her no mind as he walked over and repeated the same action as before. Unlike Jerry, Molly seemed to bare it with little sign of strain.

' _Ah, I see you don't know either_ ,' Servantis thought-spoke to Molly with a smirk. ' _Oh, and Agent Gunther? You can stop imagining nasty little ways to hurt me for damaging your filthy alien lover._ ' He then pulled his hand back, causing Molly to gasp and drop her head.

Frowning at the lack of progress made, Proctor Servantis turned to Ben Tennyson, cocking a single brow and smirking. After all, no one would know better than Tennyson where Kevin Levin was.

Seeing Servantis's eyes on him, Ben felt his blood go cold, and his body start to quiver in fear. His shaking intensified the closer Servantis got to him. The Proctor's hand was stretched halfway out when Rook stepped between the two and caught the Proctor's wrist in a bone crushing grip.

"GAAAH! UNHAND ME, AGENT BLONKO, AT ONCE OR..." Servantis snapped in anger and pain at the growling Revonnahgander.

"You will  _not_  probe my Beloved's mind, he is in a fragile state," Rook growled. His teeth were bared, his claws were elongated slightly, and his pupils were slowly turning into slits. "And if you do not heed my warning, Proctor or not, I will not be held responsible for the blood-shed that follows."

Sensing the major conflict brewing before him, Ben quickly pulled on Rook's elbow. When Rook finally turned to him, Ben's eyes beseeched his fiance not to do something reckless and stupid. Luckily, the choice was made for Rook when Max interjected by roughly pulling Servantis arm free of Rook's grip.

"Kevin's not here, and I won't tolerate you probing my grandson's mind, or hurting anymore of my team. He's already been undergoing some therapy due to his break-up with Kevin, and I don't...

"BREAK-UP?!" Servantis's former angry expression turned to utter shock before narrowing his eyes onto Ben. "You can't mean... _him_  and Levin..."

"Not anymore," Ben hissed in contempt, rubbing Rook's arms to settle him down. "The bastard was just using me while he dated my cousin. Then he broke things off because he preferred to be 'normal' with Gwen. The last I saw of him was on the Tetramand home world."

"Kevin is no longer a part of the Plumbers, and we've neither seen nor talked to him for several months," Max informed the Proctor. "And we've no way of contacting him."

"Indeed," Rook said calmly, with only a hint of a growl behind his voice. "Magister Tennyson revoked his Plumbers Badge and banned him from the headquarters.

"IMPOSSIBLE! HE NEVER SHOULD'VE..." Servantis stopped himself, calming down as Agent Swift wrapped her tail around his hand to calm him down, while giving him a pointed look. "I was not aware of this, as it was not in the Plumbers database."

"Yes, well," Max crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes at the Proctor, "I had a favor with the Magistrata. She made sure  _all_  traces of Kevin were removed from the database to avoid any bad memories for Ben and Gwen."

Servantis growled in frustration, while the other Rooters looked perturbed and disgruntled.

"This  _heavily_  impedes our current...assignment...Magister," the Proctor hissed in annoyance.

"Well, you should've told Levin not to cheat on my granddaughter with my grandson and try to ruin their happiness," Max snarkly responded, clearly upset with how things had progressed so far.

"It shouldn't have  _ever_  happened," Servantis murmured.

Max and Rook looked to each other in surprise and suspicion, both of them having caught the Proctor's words thanks to keen hearing.

"Well then, it appears I will need to commandeer your people, Magister Tennyson," Servantis said. "They will all be reassigned to tracking down Kevin Levin, effective immediately."

"You won't need  _all_  my people," Max said, "just two; my best men. They're galvan, so they'll find him in no time."

_**-BRoken-** _

"Did you  _really_  think your stalling tactics would fool me?!" Servantis hissed after storming into Plumber HQ's control room.

"Stalling tactics?" the image of Blukic in the holo-screen behind Max asked.

"We gave that search 100%," the image of Driba said.

" _I_  gave it 200!" Blukic replied.

"Hmph, like you could give 200% in anything!" Driba said. "  _Especially_  roman-"

Driba's words were cut off by a telekinetic force bolt, courtesy of Servnatis, thus shorting the comm system. As the bolt passed fairly close to Max, the elder man stepped back a ways and fell into the harsh grasp of his former partner.

Servantis stepped in front of Max and gave him a cold glare before his cranial plates opened, revealing his brain and an even harsher telepathic probe than any he'd dealt out thus far today. ' _I had hoped to spare you the indignity, Magister_ ,' Servantis spoke telepathically, ' _but you must know something._ ' As the probe continued to scan Max's memories, Servantis could not help but chuckle darkly. ' _Amusing_ ,' he thought-spoke, ' _your close friend, the pisciss volann, fears his emotions to be one-sided. However it seems that it is the contrary. Fools._ '

_**-BRoken-** _

"Agh! What is your prob- Ben?" Kevin exclaimed after being pulled out from under a van he'd been working on.

"Just shut up and listen, Levin!" Ben growled, none too pleased with the assignment his grandpa had given him, but understanding its necessity. "The only reason I'm here is because Grandpa Max sent me."

At this, Kevin bowed his head in shame. "Yeah...figured you'd still be peeved about all that."

Ben crossed his arms and glared at Kevin. "What did I say about shutting up and listening?" After receiving a reply of silence, Ben said, "Good. Now, what the hell did you do to get the attention of the Rooters?"

"The Rooters?" Kevin asked in confusion.

"Plumbers Black-Ops," Ben answered tersely.

"So does that make them black spots?" Kevin asked teasingly, only to falter when Ben didn't react.

"Been there, done that," Ben said. "So I'm going to ask again: What. Did You Do?"

"Never heard of 'em," Kevin answered defensively, frowning as he did. "Or are you so sure of my guilt that you aren't even going to entertain the idea of me being the victim this time?"

"You  _really_  sure you want an honest answer to that?" Ben growled.

Any response Kevin might have given was cut-off by a series of laser blasts originating from outside the auto-shop, where stood Servantis and his two cronies. Acting on instinct, Kevin tackled Ben, throwing them both into cover.

"Unless you want to be singing soprano for the rest of your life, I'd suggest getting off me  _now_ ," Ben hissed, feeling very uncomfortable with Kevin atop him as he currently was.

"Sorry," Kevin grunted before climbing off and placing his hand on a nearby car, absorbing the metal and encasing himself in it. He then grabbed a tool shelf and checked it at the three Rooters who easily blasted it.

"Resistance is futile!" Servantis cried smugly.

"So is yelling that phrase," Ben said before turning into Upchuck, ingesting a tire, and spitting it back at the Rooters, clearing the way for them to exit through the back entrace.

Unfortunately, their path was blocked by Servantis, who Kevin literally ran in to and smashed heads with. Losing his concentration as the wild telepathic energy played havoc with his mind, his metal encasing dropped and he nearly fell to the ground before Upchuck caught him.

"I really hope you have another way out," Upchuck said, seriously regretting even trying to help the raven-haired rouge.

"Just one," Kevin said. "Computer, initiate 'Sweet Escape' protocol!"

And with that, Kevin and Ben were teleported into Kevin's car as it's engine started up and it's doors closed.

They were long gone before Servantis, Swift, and Leander could react.

"Since when do you run from a fight?" Ben asked as he looked all over the cars interior as they roared down the road. "And when did you get a new car?"

"Me and Cooper sorta...struck a deal," Kevin warily informed Ben. "Ever since he got that tadenite car from King Gar Red Wind I show up every week while Gwen is in class to absorb the tadenite and chip off enough from the car to land him a couple million."

"WHAT?!" Ben exclaimed as he gawked at Kevin.

"And he gives me a couple thousand to get the hell out of there, and never show up until the same time next week," Kevin added, shrugging. "Hey, we both needed money. He had the safe and I had the key...so to speak."

"I can't believe...even after Gwen told him what you put us through," Ben growled, "I know Gwen told him everything, it's why she fell for him! He was there for her like Rook was for me. How can Cooper-"

"WOULD YOU SHUT THE HELL UP AND LISTEN TO ME!?" Kevin snapped, causing Ben to gasp sharply and lean back against the car door as Kevin glared at him. "I GET IT, OKAY?!" Kevin continued before stopping to take a breath. "I took your virginity, something special to you, and then lead you along like a kite on a string. And then I ditched you for Gwen, but it wasn't  _my_  fault anymore than it was  _your_  fault. But I think it was Servantis' fault..."

Ben stiffened in shock at hearing Kevin refer to the Proctor by name, especially since Ben didn't tell Kevin his name. "How do you know his name? How are you connected to them? And what kind of lame ass excuse is that?" Ben asked. "You're gonna blame the  _Rooters_  for fucking me before I was ready and breaking my heart? Do you have  _any_  idea what I've been going through because of you, or what Rook has?" Ben rubbed his face in frustration, tears starting to form in his eyes as Kevin looked on, warily, while keeping one eye on the road. "I love Rook, and I'm grateful he came into my life," Ben said, "but I was still hurting from you, and it's caused  _nothing_  but backlash's for us both. What you did, the emotional trauma, he's got to put up with on an almost daily basis! And I know I shouldn't put myself down like that, but he shouldn't have to be my anchor or go with me to counseling."

"You're seeing a therapist?" Kevin whispered in shock.

Ben rolled his eyes and made a scoffing sound in the back of his throat. "Yeah...turns out being dumped by the guy who took my virginity was only the foundation for a number of emotional problems caused by stress which I have an unfortunate habit of bottling up so that no one can see. And having my new boyfriend attack me while under the control of a zombie clown was the last straw, causing all that bottled up stress and despair to come rushing out and overload me."

Kevin winced at the tone in Ben's voice: accusing and sarcastic.

"And yet, despite all that, I can't get you out of my head," Ben said accusingly, "and I'm saving your life! Why?! Why should I?!"

"Because...I remember, Ben," Kevin answered softly as he pulled the car over and activated a cloaking field around it.

"What are y-" Ben started before being pulled into a tight but comforting hug. Ben was stunned by this hug. Kevin had  _never_  hugged him like this! Ben struggled to push Kevin off, but stopped when Kevin started to speak to him.

"When I touched Servantis, I absorbed him...his mind...partially. I remember things...things that don't line up right," Kevin said, tightening his hold as he began to shake. "I'm not what you think I am...I'm not what  _I_  think I am," Kevin's voice shook as he continued. "But I can never apologize enough for what I did...Benji."

Ben froze at the word 'Benji'. Specifically, the tenderness and care behind the word. This was Kevin as Ben had once wanted him. And it killed Ben to realize that a part of his heart ached for it just as much as it ached for Rook's 'Beloved' or 'My Heart's Flame'. So involved his his own thoughts was Ben that he almost missed Kevin's next big revelation.

"I don't even have alien blood, or an alien father!" Kevin said, his voice almost histerical.

Ben's eyes widened in surprise and confusion. "But...you're an Osmossian!"

"There isn't any place called 'Osmos 5'," Kevin regretfully informed Ben. "I'm a bad guy, but...I never meant to hurt you or Gwen..."

"Kevin, I..."

What Ben had been about to say was halted by a volley of laser blasts hitting the car.

_**-BRoken-** _

"I am still uncertain, Magister, about the wisdom of sending Ben to confront and save Kevin. There is too much history between the two," Rook said as he walked by Max's side.

"You think Ben will let his emotions keep him from doing his job?" Max asked, raising a single brow in question.

"You do not?" Rook answered, mirroring the look Max had given him.

Max simply looked away and grunted. "I have faith that Ben will make the right decision where Kevin is concerned."

As they entered the the loading dock to stand with Jerry, Blukic, and Driba, three of the appropriated Plumbers tanks rolled in. All five hoped that the Rooters were returning empty-handed. But when the boarding ramp of the lead tank lowered, they were all dismayed to see both Ben and Kevin being lead by Leander, Swift and Servantis.

Rook glowered at Kevin, but felt more anger toward the Rooters due to the bruises and scuff marks on Ben, who seemed deeply troubled and was giving Kevin wary sidelong glances.

"My apologies, Kevin," Max said, looking genuinely apologetic. "Despite the events of the past, I never wanted you to be in the hands of these snakes."

"That would make one of us, Magister Tennyson," Rook grumbled.

Kevin looked downcast as he said, "It's alright if you hate me, Rook. I pretty much hate myself too."

"Blonko, it's not what you think," Ben said as he stepped forward to hold out his handcuffed hands to Rook, who took the offered hands in his own, shocked at how bad the younger male was shaking. "They messed with Kevin's head!" Ben exclaimed as he looked to Kevin with a sad glance, setting off warning bells in Rook's head. "They twisted his mind and his memory like a pretzel, or a really bad yoga pose. It could even explain why he did what he did to me and Gwen!" Ben explained in a rushed and panicked tone.

"And you believed him?!" Rook said as he took a step back from Ben in alarm. "Beloved, you know what he did and how he often lies.  _Why_  would you believe him when he'd say  _anything_  to earn your sympathy and trust to escape?"

Ben jumped at the contraction and the angry growl coming from Rook. "You think I don't know that?" Ben asked, frowning. "Why would he lie now? He could've told me all this in the past in order to keep cheating on Gwen with me!" Ben said desperately. "I learned long ago to tell the difference between Kevin is lying and Kevin telling the truth; trust me, this is  _definitely_  not something he'd lie about. Plus, he's not even an Osmosian! Why would he lie about that?!"

"It is as I said," Rook hissed, "and you've fallen for it hook, line, and sinker!"

"Seriously?!" Ben snapped, looking upset. "You think I'd let my past affection for Kevin cloud my judgment?"

Jealousy and insecurity at seeing his Heart's Flame defend his former lover, mixed with feral rage colored Rook's tone of voice as he hissed, "You're being incredibly accommodating and understanding towards someone who all but raped you and then left you without a second thought! If I didn't know any better I'd say you were a Stockholm case!"

Silence filled the bay. Servantis watched on with a nasty smile on his face while the Plumbers and other Rooters looked between Rook and Ben in surprise. Ben, though, was shocked to his core. Rook's words had been like a slap to his face.

"Hey, that's enough you two," Kevin, of all people, said as he moved between the two quarreling lovers. "You two are great together; way better than Ben and I were! I don't want to be the thing that breaks you two apart." Kevin sighed heavily in resignation before saying, "I'll go with Servantis. No fuss."

"No!" Ben cried before turning to Max. "Grandpa, you can't let them do this! He's not even an alien!"

"Indeed," Servantis said, a hint of smugness in his tone, "it is a term I coined for a human with a unique genetic component. Each Osmossian has a different ability. Kevin's is absorption, which makes him indispensable to me." An ugly leer formed on Servantis' face as he held up one of his hands in a fist, demonstrating his eagerness to have Kevin with the rooters again.

Kevin turned to Servantis with a deep frown. "You need me to mix together your army," he said in an accusing tone. "Humans with alien powers."

"Why do you want to give humans alien powers?" Ben asked before realizing the irony of the question and adding, "Said the guy with the thing that does that."

Servantis' dark gaze seemed to focus solely on Ben as he said, "There is a threat to this entire universe that you cannot possibly understand. To know it would make your tiny head explode."

"The whole thing sounds like a load of daxel-spoodle," Max said with suspicion.

Servantis raised a single brow, having never been questioned before. "Beg your pardon?"

Max walked right up to Servantis and said, "A fairy tale for the Magistrata to keep the Rooters in business. All you are is smoke and mirrors."

"You like fairy tales, Maxey?" Phil asked in a gloating tone. "How many partners do you think you've had?"

Max turned to Phil with sorrow in his eyes as he said, "I've got one I'd prefer to forget."

"He means my dad," Kevin explained to the group at large.

"Never mind that!" Servantis hastily hissed. "Let us return to the Null Void so that we can resume the amalgamation process." He then turned to walk away, his fellow Rooters and Kevin following behind him.

The Rooters were halfway to the turbolift when Max grabbed Servantis' shoulder and forcibly turned him around. "I never had a partner named 'Devin Levin', did I? You implanted that memory years ago, so I'd feel obligated to keep an eye on Kevin!" Max growled in accusation.

Servantis sent a withering look to Phil as he said, "You had to rub it in, didn't you." He then turned the same withering look to Max as he said, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I did give you that memory...and others."

"Those Plumbers kids!" Max exclaimed in realization. "You rotten head-case! You mind-zapped me into baby-sitting your experiments!"

Servantis smirked as he sarcastically said, "Sharp as ever."

Max glared furiously at Servantis as he pulled Kevin away from Servantis' side and said, "This doesn't wash. Kevin's staying. As for the rest of you... _get outta my shop_!"

Servantis narrowed his eyes at Max's retreating back and said, "Now you're getting on my nerves. And I have  _a lot_  of them."

_**-BRoken-** _

After the Rooters had cleared out, Max turned to Rook and Ben. Both seemed to be keeping their distance from each other and not looking at each other. Today's events had clearly altered something in their relationship. They'd had fights and disagreements before, but this one was clearly different. This one dealt with a ghost from Ben's past that still had not yet been resolved.

"Ben. Rook," Max called.

The two young men jumped, having been pulled from deep thoughts and sulking attitudes.

"I want you boys to hit the showers and then report to Councilor Atris immediately," Max ordered.

This was going to be a long night.

**END VOLUME XV**


	21. Intermission 6: One Last Thing Unresolved...

Atris Peydora looked at the the young men before her with keen and observing eyes. Her natural abilities as a galilean not only allowed her to manipulate gravity, but to sense it's movements...it's ebbs and flows. As such, she was acutely aware that something was weighing heavily upon the both of them. Magister Tennyson had given her a quick, three minute brief on what had occurred today, but there was still more to the situation.

Ever since Benjamin Tennyson first came to her months ago, Atris had guided him through a journey no young man should ever have to take. On the outside, to the public, Ben was brave, fool-hardy, reckless, and kind. But on the inside...to his family and friends...the boy was being pushed to the brink. Every day was a new disaster that Ben felt compelled to fight off. And at the end of each day Ben felt strained, stressed, and exhausted.

The boy had the weight of the world upon his shoulder.

"So, I would like to start by having you both, one at a time, telling me why we are here," Atris instructed. "Benjamin, would you like to start?"

Ben gave Rook a side-long glance before he began to speak. "The Rooters barged into headquarters demanding that Kevin be returned to their custody. But there was something dirty about the whole thing...Grandpa Max, Patelliday, everyone could sense it. Max had Blukic and Driba stall the Rooters while I track down Kevin and get him into hiding."

Atris kept her features schooled as Ben spoke despite the great surprise at Ben referring to Kevin Levin by his first name instead of his last. A critical puzzle piece had just been presented to her.

"I found him and we made our escape," Ben continued, "but not before Kevin ran head first into the Rooters' leader... _Servantis_. He's half human, half cerebralcrustacean. When Kevin collided with him, he absorbed some of the telepathic energy from Servantis' brain. As we drove off, Kevin said he was beginning to remember things."

"What kind of things?" Atris asked.

Ben looked up at Atris, and the woman could read the thoughts and emotions in his eyes as though they were books. "He...he said that everything about his past was a lie...that there are no such things as osmossians, at least as we know them...and that..."

When Ben didn't continue, Atris leaned forward ever so slightly and said, "Yes?"

"...That maybe Servantis planted bad thoughts and memories of him in me while we were...together."

Ah...and so the final hurdle in Ben's marathon was being reached. The final ounce of emotional baggage was ready to be exorcised. Atris was going to need a strong cup of tea when this was done. Turning to Rook, Atris asked, "Would you care to add anything?"

Rook nodded an affirmative and said, "When I saw Ben with Kevin, I thought that Ben had agreed to the Rooters demands. I had warned Magister Tennyson that Ben's history with Kevin might result in such an outcome. I was... _pleased_...to see that perhaps I had been right. But then..." Rook stopped as his whole body tensed. Atris could see the strain along his jaw that suggested the revonnahgander was clenching his teeth.

"Then?" Atris probed.

"...Then he started to defend Kevin," Rook said with a bitter tone. "He pleaded with the Rooters not to take Levin away, saying it was all a lie; Kevin's past were all a fiction created by the Rooters...by Servantis. And while it was true that Servantis had great telepathic abilities, I could not bring myself to believe that Kevin was innocent."

"Why not? Why not give him the benefit of the doubt?" Atris asked.

Rook shut his eyes and tightened his hands into fists before relaxing. "I saw what he put Ben through...the emotional turmoil and anguish...how the life seemed to drain right out of him...but then I managed to coax him back to life, and I felt my heart's flame spark to life," Rook looked up at Atris with a small, sad smile. "Among my people, we believe that within our heart lies a spark...a small, flickering flame feeble fighting back the darkness. We also believe that there exists a single person for each of us who shares a similar spark. And when the two meet, their combined sparks light a blazing fire that can never be put out. It is that person we stand by and never leave for the rest of our life," Rook explained to Atris, briefly glancing at Ben.

"I was always 'by the books', as humans say," Rook continued, keeping his eyes on Ben, "I followed my peoples traditions as well as the Plumbers code. And yet, while Ben didn't  _completely_  disrespect the rules, he certainly didn't follow them to the letter. He was unlike anything I ever met before: wild, free-spirited, said whatever was on his mind. I love my people, but they could be...rigid at times." Rook smiled happily as he then said "And with Ben, I had this uncontrollable, dazzling being before me...showing me things I'd have  _never_  thought to see."

"And that's why you had a particularly venomous dislike for Kevin," Atris interjected. "In your eyes, he had tarnished that jubilant aura Ben possessed, and so you saw him as a 'deplorable' individual."

Rook frowned and bowed his head. "Correct," he answered. "And when I saw Ben start to defend Kevin..." Rook started.

"I had to, Rook. I mean, I couldn't let them take him away, not after what he told me!" Ben cut in.

"And you believed him!" Rook shouted. "How do you think that made me feel to see you defending the man who'd hurt both you and Sister Gwen so badly! He lied, cheated and stole from so many!"

"But it wasn't him! Not those times, or the others!" Ben shouts as he jumped out of his seat and stood before Rook. "I believe him; all you have to do is believe  _me_. Kevin would have given me the benefit of the doubt and believed me!"

"OF COURSE HE WOULD! WHY ARGUE WITH THE ONE WARMING YOUR BED WHILE YOU'RE OFF PRACTICING INFIDELITY?!" Rook shouted as he jumped to his feet.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Atris commanded as she levitated the two back into their seats. "Now, Rook, that last comment was quite derogatory. While blindly fueled by rage, it was still below the belt."

"You are right," Rook agreed feeling guilty at having said it. Turning to Ben with sincerity and remorse he said, "I am sorry."

"...I'll always forgive you," Ben replied.

Seeing the two finding their middle ground once more, Atris smiled and said, "Good. Now we can proceed. And I believe I have a theory as to the crux of the matter." Turning to Rook, who had perked up at Atris' words, she said, "Stop me if I'm wrong: while it is true that you find it impossible to forgive and forget as Ben has due to what Kevin has done in the past, whether it was by choice or not, the  _real_  problem is far more serious – if Ben can  _forgive_  Kevin, what is to stop him from  _caring_  for Kevin again? And should Ben ever  _care_  for Kevin again, what is to stop him from  _loving_  Kevin again?"

Ben's mouth dropped in shock at the completely preposterous notion only to find Rook's head bowed and looking absolutely defeated. "Rook? Is that...what you really think?" Ben asked fearfully.

Rook looked up at Ben, tears slowly falling from his eyes. "Throughout the universe, great importance is held towards one's first anything: their first word, their first step, their first day of school, ...their first love. Had Kevin never abandoned you as he did, you and I would  _never_  have happened," Rook explained, sounding positively miserable. "If it could be proven that all your bad memories of him never happened, you could fall in love with him again...and leave me."

Ben slowly stood up and moved towards Rook, who looked up at him. Neither he nor Atris were prepared for Ben to slap Rook across the face.

"You... _idiot_!" Ben hissed through tears. "Do you  _really_  think that I'm capable of that?! Do you really think I think so little of you! And you think  _I'm_  arrogant?! Damn it, I love you more than that! Kevin and I had our time and now it's over! I'm with  _you_! I love  _you_! I swear to God if I  _ever_ catch you thinking that away again I'll hit you  _much_  harder than I just did!" And with that, Ben wrapped his arms around Rook.

During Ben's tirade, Rook had just sat their in shock, but when Ben had wrapped hi arms around him all of his fears seemed to wash away and he could only cry in joy that he wasn't going to lose Ben.

"I love you so much, Ben Tennyson," Rook cried.

"I love you so much too, you stupid cat," Ben cried back.

Atris allowed the two their reconciliatory moment before  _hem hem_ -ing to get their attention back. "I'm glad to see the two of you have patched things up," Atris said with a pleased smile before grinning impishly and adding, "Perhaps, in the future, you  _will_  try to bypass me and simply talk to each other?" Of course she'd never deny them a session with her, but they really did need to learn to communicate about the negative things just as well as they did the positive things.

At the galileans words, both Ben and Rook grinned sheepishly.

"Now, it seems that like many young couples involved in a whirlwind romance, the two of you are making a critical mistake which often leads to increased jealousy and uncertainty: spending  _too much_  time with each other," Atris lectured. "Rook, you have friends here on Earth, Plumber and civilian alike, yes?"

"That is correct," Rook answered.

"When was the last time you spent any time with them?" Atris asked.

Rook's lack of a response was answer enough.

"Ben? I pose to you the same question."

Like Rook, Ben didn't respond.

"Well then. Some time apart might indeed do you both good. Taking into account Mr. Blonko's feral state I am ordering no less than two weeks of you two going off and 'doing your own thing', as the humans say. And when you come back, I suspect you'll find yourselves more clear-headed about each other and this relationship. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," they answered in unison before thanking the galilean and exiting her office, nearly running into Patelliday as they did. The two simply shrugged and allowed Patelliday his privacy.

_**-BRoken-** _

"Magister Patelliday," Atris said, "this is a surprise. Is everything alright?"

"I...I think I'm ready to tell... _him_ ," Patelliday answered nervously.

Atris was going to need a  _another_  strong cup of tea when this was done.

**END INTERMISSION**


	22. Volume XVI

**Episode 57: No Honor Among Bros**

_***Warning: Use of the term "fugly".***_

Rook woke up that morning feeling a bit rough around the edges. Ordinarily, this was fairly unusual as Rook was very much a morning person, having been used to waking up at sunrise every day back on Revonnah. But these last two weeks had tested his resolve immensely; Ben's lack of presence had been difficult but doable the first week. But this last week? Absolute torture! This particular morning, though, Rook was feeling even rougher than he should. Had he slept in a bad position last night? Had he been unable to achieve REM sleep for the prescribed amount of time? Who could say? Still, Rook new somewhere in the back of his mind that something wasn't quite right about him that morning.

And it would be absolutely terrible if he was sick on the day he and Ben would get to reunite after their medically ordered two-week separation.

Trudging into the bathroom, he stared half-heartedly at his bedraggled reflection in the mirror before scratching his armpit and coming away with moistened fingers that smelled like wet muroid. His initial reaction to the stench was disgust, but after another sniff or two something about the musky stench seemed to endear itself to him.

Going back to his reflection in the mirror, Rook was most displeased at the sight in front of him. Everything about his fur screamed control, sensibility, and function. There was no passion behind his appearance; no zeal for life! It was boring and unacceptable! His Ben shouldn't settle for a ho-hum dud...he deserved a flashy  _stud_!

So, using his still armpit-sweat drenched fingers, he ruffled up his hair so that the middle row stood up in a forward-swooping razor.

"Now  _that_  is a bro who means business! And who knows how to please his Heart's Flame!" Rook said with a grin as he flexed an impressive bicep before gesturing with his hands as if they were guns, pointing them at his reflection, and making "bang, bang, pew, pew" sounds. He then performed a sort of tuck-and-roll maneuver, exiting the bathroom, and then blew on the tip of his finger like one would a smoking gun. He then closed one eye and took aim like a sharpshooter, but stopped when he noticed his Omnitool, and a framed picture beside it.

Rook walked over to his workbench and picked up the picture. It was a photo of Ben, sitting on a park bench, drinking a smoothie. As he stared at the photo, the corner's of Rook's lips turned upward in a mischievous grin. Ben had teased him mercilessly that day about how silly it was that Rook was intending to frame the picture and keep it in his quarters as it displayed the true essence of Ben Tennyson. Of course, Rook had known that deep down, Ben appreciated the romantic gesture.

With a heated leer Rook said to the person in the photo, "Hey, Babe. How you doin'? You miss me? I know I miss you. And I can't wait to wrap these massive-pythons around your slim waist and suck the sweet juice of your mouth."

_**-BRoken-** _

A few hours later, Ben zoomed into the Plumbers HQ hangar on the Tenn-Speed and pulled up next to the Proto-TRUK. He'd had plans about today; taking a drive through Undertown with Rook, eating lunch with Rook, seeing a movie with Rook. Get in as much Rook as he could after their two week hiatus. But a certain pair of 'Fist'-obsessed criminals apparently had other plans.

"Rook! Grandpa Max says Fistrick and Fistina escaped last night!" he exclaimed as he climbed out of the motorcycle. "We need to-" Ben paused in his speech as he took in the Proto-TRUK. For one thing, it was now set on gold-rimmed, monster-truck style wheels. For another, the cargo hold was completely gold! Not to mention the vertical exhaust pipes and other new exterior accessories!

"What happened to your truck?" Ben asked, very confused by the change in his boyfriend's truck/ship.

"Epicness happened, Flame-Babe!" Rook explained, extricating himself from one of the side cargo modules and turning to face Ben.

Ben was completely thrown by the change in Rook's appearance as well! The sleeveless black shirt with the white skull print, the spiky boots, the leather pants, and the  _hair_!

"Blonko, are you feeling okay?" Ben asked in worry.

"Never better, Flame-Babe! I got in a dozen extra reps on the Bro-Flex this morning," Rook said as he transformed his 'Bro-to-Tool' into an exercise piece and used it to work out his arm.

"Your...joking, right?" Ben asked in disbelief.

"No, come over and feel my bicep," Rook replied flirtatiously as he released the 'Bro-Flex' and pumped his arm with a cheeky smirk and wink. "Come on, Heart-Babe, give this python a squeeze."

"Yeahhh...uhhh, I'd rather have someone  _else_  check it out. Like in the lab?" Ben asks worried, though he couldn't deny the tingle from the sight of his fiance's bare arms: the blue fur-covered muscles with tiger stripes on them.

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben, Max, Blukic, and Driba were observing Rook with expressions of shock, uncertainty, and/or impressed-ness. This was due both to Rook's appearance, attitude, and the fact that he was now using his 'Bro-to-Tool' as a pull-up bar and had managed to do 400 pull-ups... _and counting_! Ben, however, was also feeling tension in his chest. Seeing Rook all tricked out like a biker punk... _like Levin_...was bringing him to the verge of a panic attack. On the other hand, the green-eyed hero was enjoying seeing the most flesh, or rather fur. he'd ever seen Rook show. The Proto-Armor hadn't exactly hidden much of Rook body: the broad shoulders, the strong firm chest, and the powerful legs. But seeing Rook now, sleeveless, and doing pull-ups, Ben could truly admire the contours of Rook's arms as they bulged and slacked, one after the other.

And on balance, seeing Rook wearing  _anything_  other than that blasted Proto-Armor was an improvement!

"Almost done here," Blukic announced.

"Oh! Are you talking to me?" Driba replied sarcastically. "Because if you are,  _I can't hear you_!"

"What's with him?" Ben asked.

"One of his Mr. Smoothie collectible krunky-straws is missing and he thinks I stole it. Also, he thinks I'm cheating on him."

"Cheating?" Ben asked before his eyes went wide. "Wait, are you two  _together_?! How does that even work?!"

"Galvan relationships are not like human relationships, or even revonnahgander relationships," Driba replied testily. "They're based on mutual admiration of one anothers contributions to science, potential for mutual intellectual growth as a direct result of the relationship, and above all  _communication_  and  _trust_!"

"Alright, that's enough domestic squabbling, fellas," Max ordered. "Now, what about my future grandson-in-law?"

"I am one 110% awesome!" Rook declared, pulling himself up, holding that position, and winking at Ben. "Ready to sweep your sweet-honey babe grandson off his feet and give him the best day of his life," Rook added before giving Ben a playful growl and then saying, "and the best 3 month long honeymoon ever; this fit body is clearly up to the task. Isn't that right, Flame-Bro?"

Ben simply blushed as images flooded his mind. If he wasn't careful, his pants were sure to tent.

"But what causing this to happen?" Max asked.

"Well, that would be caused by the toxins in his temperamental lobe." Blukic answered.

"What's a 'temperamental lobe'?"

"Haven't you taken the time to research his race like a good boyfriend?" Driba asked venomously.

"Driba! I can handle you being short-tempered with me, but I'll be damned if you think acting like that towards Ben is acceptable behavior," Blukic barked in a very commanding voice. Amazingly, Driba backed down, mumbling an apology as he did. It was obvious who wore the pants in that relationship. "Now then," Blukic said, "the temperamental lobe is the part of the revonnahgander brain that governs personality, much like the frontal lobe of a human brain."

"So these toxins that are in his brain are altering his personality," Ben summarized. "Can they be removed?"

"Certainly...if we can find a way to flush them out of his system," Blukic answered.

At this, Driba sighed and said, "If only I could flush you out of my system..."

"That's way harsh, bro," Rook said, with a sad frown as he looked to the two galvans.

"Grandpa...he used a contraction! He only does that when he's super pissed off!" Ben whispered to Max in a mixture of horror and fascination.

"Relax, Ben, everything will be fine," Max said in an attempt to reassure his grandson. "I'll admit, Rook is acting...differently...but he's not behaving with criminal intent. And he still appears to be quite taken with you."

" _Very_  taken," Rook said, licking his lips afterwards. He then performed a gymnastic flip on the bar before jumping and landing next to Ben, wrapping his arm around the young man's waist. "Isn't that right, my Heart's Babe?"

Ben's mind, however, was overloading from the stimuli of the flirting, the touching, and the contractions. However, he had to agree with Grandpa Max: Rook wasn't evil, and he  _certainly_  hadn't left him for someone else (like Levin had).

"Meanwhile," Max cut in, drawing everyone's attention to him, "we've got two escaped convicts and one of my best Plumbers is out of commission!"

"With all due respect, Grandpa-Bro," Rook said, "there's nothing wrong with me!"

Max considered Rooks words and weighed the pros and cons of letting Rook go in his mind. Finally, he sighed in defeat before turning to his grandson. "Ben, he's your partner and fiance..."

Ben turned to look back at Rook. Again he was struck by how Rook's new look put him on edge. But he wasn't a clown zombie, nor was he showing any of the warning signs Levin had. Not to mention that, if he were truly honest, Rook's shark-hawk hairdo was super hot. And then there were Rook's eyes. At first they burned with smug, arrogant passion. But after a moment they seemed to soften...reverting back to the eyes Ben had known up until now. "Well," Ben said, resigned, "he talks funny, uses weird terms of endearment, and has weird taste in clothes," Ben paused, shrugging as he grinned wryly, "but that's never stopped me from dating him before."

At these words, Rook's eyes widened with glee. He then swooped Ben into his arms, holding him bridal style. He then goosed Ben's butt at the precise moment that he leaned down to kiss Ben deeply, thereby granting him immediate access to Ben's mouth. Ben would have squeaked in surprise, but having a mouthful of forked revonnahgander tongue made that impossible. Oh, but the sensation of that skillful tongue moving about in his mouth mixed with the vibration caused by Rook's purring...it was, in a word, divine!

When Rook finally pulled back, the revonnahgander took in Ben's utterly debauched look and grinned. "Care to put a hurt on those jail-birds, or should we return to the foreplay?"

Ben looked into Rook's eyes for a second before turning his head to look to Grandpa Max and saying, "Is it too late to change my mind?"

_**-BRoken-** _

"Keep looking, Flame-Bro," Rook said to Ben, his eyes looking out his window as they drove through the streets of Bellwood. "They have got to be around here somewhere." Pedestrians and fellow drivers alike were stopping and starring at the eye sore that was the 'Bro-to-TRUK'.

"Well, if they are, they're certainly not hiding in my thigh," Ben dryly pointed out, looking down at Rook's hand which was planted firmly on his left thigh.

"Just want to make sure your safe, in case we accidentally trash the 'Bro-to-TRUK', my Heart's Babe," Rook explained with a suave smile.

"That's what my seat-belt is for, Blonko!" Ben snapped, suddenly feeling very uncertain and uncomfortable about this unsolicited and highly intimate touch. "Move your hand!"

Rook just grinned as he complied, 'moving his hand' up and down Ben's thigh in a looping caress.

This, of course, lead to Ben's face turning red and his own hands shoving Rook's off of him. "Not what I meant!" Ben snapped, pinching the back of Rook's hand as it tried to sneak into it's former position.

"Way harsh, Heart's Babe," Rook replied with a pout.

"We're supposed to be finding Fistrick and Fistina," Ben reminded his altered fiance. "Though, how we're supposed to do that if we're just driving around aimlessly while you're trying to feel me up is beyond me."

"You got a better plan?" Rook asked. "And it's not like I've never touched you before."

"Not like that," Ben mumbled, suddenly self-conscious as he crossed his arms in a defensive posture. "It's...uncomfortable."

Stunned, Rook quickly pulled over and turned to look at Ben. His eyes, like before, reflected the original Rook rather than the altered one. The were soft, tender, and concerned. "Was I doing it wrong? I didn't hurt you, right? I thought I was applying the right amount fo pressure."

"No, Rook, it's not that," Ben replied, his eyes unable to meet Rook's.

"Flame-Bro..." Rook started as he used his hand to gently grab Ben's chin and tilt Ben's head up and towards Rook. "There is nothing to feel uncomfortable about. Your body is an amalgamation of the sweetest delicacies in the galaxy."

Ben blushed, but nonetheless all but preened under Rook's words.

"Your mouth is a sweet and biting fruit tart whose flavor I simply can't resist," Rook crooned. "Your hands are as smooth and delicate as a peach's skin. And your legs...so firm and supple...like a honey-sweet melon."

Ben was at a loss for words having never heard such praise before. Not even Levin had been so kind and imaginative with his words. Shaking himself free of the spell Rook had put him under, he resumed his former posture of looking away from Rook with his arms crossed. "Just...just get back on the road. Use that smart brain of yours to figure out where the convicts are. We'll come to... _all of that_...later."

Rook simply grinned and replied, "To be continued," before pulling back out onto the road."Okay, well...if I'm gonna use my brain, I'm gonna need some vitamins, proteins, and what-not...you know, to give me a brain boost!" Rook then said, though really it was just an excuse for getting food.

Seeing the ploy for what it was, Ben sighed and said, "There's a Mr. Smoothie's just up ahead. And this  _better_  not be an attempt at a date; we're on a mission!" Realizing what he'd just said, Ben then shook his head in wonder and added to himself, "Whoa...never thought I'd hear myself say that."

_**-BRoken-** _

"Give me a Mega-sized Ras-Blaster; no add-ins. What are you having, Blonko?" Ben asked, having been careful not to order 'blueberry' for fear of getting suggestive innuendos from this new Blonko.

"I'd rather be having you, Heart's Babe. But since your on lock-down..." Ben's face turned red at Rook's words, "...better give me the Ultimate Giga-Protein Quick Extreme, with a brain boost. Oooh! And the energy boost!" At this, Rook gave Ben a suggestive eyebrow waggle. "Might need it for later; this one is a kitten when wound up."

The cashier's eyes bulged at Rook, as Ben's face turned redder before turning away to avoid the Cashier's stare, and repeatedly slapping Rook's arm in mortification.

A minute later and the two were sitting at a table slurping down their respective smoothies. Rook, though, was making quite a show as he often flicked the tip of the straw with his tongue in an effort to further fluster Ben. All too soon, though, a bug-eyed-bug alien passed by, and Rook made them stop.

"Hey, dude, have you seen a really well built dude and a chick in a metal suit around here?" Rook asked. When his inquiry received a negative response, he moved on to a large green scaly alien sitting with a smaller red puffer fish alien.

"Guess I have to be detective today," Ben sighed. "Um, Babe?" Ben called out as he approached Rook, who was now glaring at the green alien.

"Just a minute, Flame-Babe," Rook replied as he deepened his glare at the scaly, larger alien. "This guy just insulted my choice in lovers, as if he has room to talk with this fugly date of his."

Ben quickly grabbed Rook's arm and pulled him away from a punch swung by the alien as his smaller date grabbed him from across the table to stop him from hitting Rook.

"Sorry about that," Ben cried out to the puffer fish alien, "he's not really himself today!" He then turned Rook to face him and growled, "What the hell do you think your doing?! We're supposed to be investigating, not instigating!"

"I refuse to let anyone insult you; I had to fight for your honor!" Rook growled back, still hot over the situation.

A warm sensation bubbled up in Ben's chest at Rook's words. Honestly, where had this sweetheart been all Ben's life? Grinning wryly, Ben replied, "Does that include your godmother?" He then shook his head and said, "You know what? Doesn't matter. Back to the matter at hand: how about we go check out Fistrick's old hangout?"

"Oh yeah, that totally sick vacant warehouse!" Rook exclaimed with a grin. "We should totally claim it for ourselves; it'd make a wicked home, don't'cha think?"

Ben response was to facepalm.

_**-BRoken-** _

Once they'd arrived at Fistrick's old hideout, they were surprised to find Fistrick's cronies still occupying it. Ben could only shake his head at how ridiculous and foolish they were to still be 'hiding' there when the Plumbers and just about every other galactic government knew where they were.

While Rook made small-talk with the cronies, Ben used Wildmutt's sense of smell to pick up any trace of Fistrick's or Fistina's scent.

His search ended when the two blasted through a wall of crates on a tricked-out dune buggy.

Pulling Rook out of his silly admiration of Fistrick's ride, Ben lead his partner to the 'Bro-to-TRUK' for a pursuing chase. They followed Fistrick through a sealed off train tunnel and down into a branch which broke off from the original tunnel. When they emerged, Ben realized that they'd been lead into a section of Undertown they'd never seen before. And in front of them was half a dome-shaped building built into the wall. Above it was a large banner announcing the 'Golden Fist Tournament'.

"They escaped from prison just to fight in a tournament?!" Ben exclaimed incredulously.

"That's genius!" Rook cried.

"We'll need a good cover," Ben said to himself, "this doesn't look like the kind of place that welcomes...Rook?" Ben then realized his fiance was no longer at his side. In fact, he was running inside, apparently to sign up and win the tournament.

Ben rolled his eyes and ran after him.

Inside, Ben was surprised to see so many aliens (criminal and acquaintance) training, sparring, or in any way preparing for the tournament. Ben briefly gave an appreciative glance to a few of the aliens they passed by before turning to look at Rook. Not a single sentient being in the entire arena held a candle to his revonnahgander boyfriend. Realizing where his thoughts were going, Ben quickly looked away and blushed. It seemed that he couldn't look at Rook in his current state for very long without getting all worked up! Was it the change in outfit/style? Or was it the change in displays of affection? Both screamed 'wild' and 'untamed'.

Or maybe it was just seeing Rook's bare arms for the first time.

Ben cleared his throat to clear his mind and get Rook's attention. "Fistrick and Fistina are here somewhere, if we can see past all these muscle-bound chumps," Ben said in a disparaging tone. A burly alien who was shadow-boxing overheard Ben and turned to growl at the brunette, causing him to hold up his hands in placating manner. "Uh, no offense," Ben apologized.

Rook, however, wasn't feeling very apologetic. Getting right up in the alien's face, Rook growled back. It was a low, grumbling sound that sent chills down Ben's  _spine..._ good chills. "Hey! You better have a good health-plan, bro, because if you growl at my Heart-Babe like that, you're not gonna have a  _mouth_  to growl with ever again!" Rook threatened as he wrapped a protective arm around Ben's waist.

Luckily, the alien took the hint and walked away.

"Yeah, you better walk away!" Rook called out to the retreating alien before looking down at Ben. "Nobody messes with my Heart-Babe."

"Can we move on?" Ben asked shyly, not wanting to admit to either Rook or himself just how turned on he was by Rook's alpha-male display.

Rook beamed and replied, "Sure thing, Heart-Babe." And just like that, they walked off with Ben still tucked into Rook's side with an arm wrapped around his waist.

A little ways ahead Ben spotted Liam lifting some weights. Knowing that Liam had a prior work-history with Fistina, Ben pointed him out to Rook and they two walked over to the avian.

"Hey, looking good there, bro!" Rook cheered Liam on. "What kind of supplements you taking?"

Liam didn't turn to them as he answered, "Oh, a little creatine, little millet, some-" Liam paused as he turned to look at whoever had addressed him and cried out in equal parts surprise and terror as he realized who it was. "TENNYSON?! I'm clean, I swear!"

"Relax, Liam." Ben placatingly said to the frazzled fowl. "We're just looking for your old pal Fistina. Seen her around?" Ben asked.

"I ain't seen nothin'! Leave me alone!" Liam cried before running off...most likely to Fistina to warn her.

After a pause Rook commented, "Dude needs to cut down on the milet, that stuff makes you paranoid."

"Lucky for us, scared little chickens always run back to their mama," Ben said as he pointed over to the other side of the gym. "There's Fistina and Fistrick. Let's bust them so we can get out of this freak show."

"Hold up, Heart-Babe," Rook said, grabbing Ben by the shoulder before the brunette could make a move, "if they want this golden-fist thing bad enough to break out of jail it must be wicked powerful, right?"

"Yeah, maybe," Ben said, uncertain where Rook was going with this.

"All's I'm saying is that maybe,  _maybe_ , we should stay signed up for the tournament just to make sure this super-powerful what's-it doesn't fall into the wrong hands," Rook explained with an eager grin before his his turned soft and his tone almost pleading. "Also, we've been apart for so long and we've not talked or gone out on a date. This would be the  _perfect_  time to do something fun together! Think about it: Blonko and Ben v.s The League of Undertown Crooks, the fate of the coveted Golden-Fist, and the secrets it holds, in the balance!"

Ben had to admit, it would be fun to kick ass with Rook for the first time in weeks. And he absolutely  _had_  to hold back a laugh at the 'Leauge of Undertown Crooks' comment. "Makes sense..." he started before shaking his head; now wasn't the time for this, they had a job to do! "No! It makes no sense at all. It makes  _crazy_!"

"Yeah," Rook replied with a mischievous grin, "Crazy  _sense_!"

"Let me make something perfectly clear, Blonko," Ben said sternly, "Competing in a super illegal tournament to win a giant golden fist does not constitute a good date!"

Rook sighed drooped his head as he said, "You're right." A second later, though, he perked his head back up, grinning widely, and exclaimed, "It makes a  _great_  date!" He then proceeded to sweep Ben up in his arms, bridal-style, and squeeze his ass as he shoved his forked tongue into Ben's mouth.

Ben was so flooded with hormones and pleasure that he couldn't have said no even if he wanted to! Damn, but that tongue knew what to do! When he finally came back to his senses, Ben found himself sitting rather comfortably in Rook's lap looking out on the tournament ring. Ben would've moved into his own seat, but seeing as he had already traded his principles for Rook's skillful lips and tongue he might as well do so for his solid and strong body.

One by one competitors came and competitors went until Rook faced off against Solid Plugg. The revonnahgander had insisted on a good luck kiss before leaping out of the viewing box, which had caused quite a bit of wolf-whistling and laughs from the audience.

The fight itself was a farce; the only reason Rook won was because Plugg slipped in a puddle of Rook's sweat. Still, a win was a win and Ben was proud...even though he had only agreed to this under...er... _coercion_.

Following that, Slix Vigma announced the next fight to be between Malice and Ben. Everyone cheered while Malice clapped his hands together and raised them up in the air, accepting the booming applause. In Ben's case, however, the audience held nothing but contempt and so "Boo"-ed at Ben. To add insult to injury, some even tossed half-eaten snacks and soft-drinks at the young human. Ben was too busy shaking off the food to noticed Rook running around in the audience, growling at anyone who dared to throw trash at his Ben.

"Hey, I know you," Ben said after realizing who he was going up against.

"YEAH, AND LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, BEN TENNYSON – HAVING TO FIGHT A GUY WHO NOT ONLY SAVED MY LIFE AND THE LIFE OF MY SOVEREIGN, BUT ALSO PREVENTED CENTURIES OF BRUTAL WARFARE, REALLY TICKS MALICE OFF!" Malice roared as he charged at Ben. "OH, YEAH!"

Frantically, Ben slapped his hand onto his Omnitrix, not wanting to be human while facing an enrage appoplexian. When the blast of light faded, though, Ben was a little disgruntled to find himself turned into Rath...an appoplexian as well.

"HEY! LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, OMNITRIX!" Rath shouted just before getting punched in the chest by Malice, causing him to fly into the wall.

"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, BEN TENNYSON!" Malice then shouted, before leering at Rath. "IT IS ENTIRELY UNFAIR THAT YOUR APPOPLEXIAN FORM IS VERY ENTICING. MALICE FINDS IT VERY HARD TO CONCENTRATE WITH YOUR GORGEOUS BODY, NOW PROPERLY CLOTHED, STANDING BEFORE MALICE!"

"Excuse Rath?!" Rath squeaked in surprise.

Malice licks his paw, and runs his paw/hand back over the white fur Mohawk on his head. "Come on, Tennyson! Fighting is like foreplay for us Appoplexians," Malice purred, no longer shouting, huskily. He then waggled his his eyebrows at Rath in a lewd manner, before striking a weight-lifting pose to show off his bicep. "Let me tell you something, Ben Tennyson. We Appoplexians have a HIGHLY advanced sense of shame... _except_  in the bedroom," Malice continued. However, his attention was pulled away when a carton of food hit him in the side of his face. Roaring in fury, Malice turned around and looked up into the audience.

Looking right back at him in equal fury was Rook, his claws out and digging into the ledge beneath his hands, and his fangs bared. "LISTEN, BRO," Rook shouted, "THAT'S  _MY_  OGIA-NECTAR BABE YOU'RE MACKING ON, AND I DON'T APPRECIATE IT! NOT COOL, BRO!"

Taking a page from Rook's book, Rath used Rook's distraction to barrel right into Malice, thus knocking him into the ground. The shock gave Rath an opening as he then delivered several punches to the chest and face. He froze, though, when he realized Malice was grinning around his broken, bleeding, nose and split lip.

"Wow! Malice is impressed with your fighting, Ben Tennyson! You must be  _really_  hot for Malice then!" the appoplexian purred.

"WHAT?!" Rath and Blonko both shouted in alarm.

Malice then took the opportunity to roll himself and Rath over, pinning the other appoplexian underneath him.

"If we aren't careful," Malice purred, "we may end up giving these good people quite the show."

Rath panicked for all of one second before a flash of movement caught his eye, causing him to grin. "Let me tell you something Malice," Rath purred back, "this show of mine has only one leading man...ROOK BLONKO!"

A look of confusion crossed Malice's face before he screamed in pain and fury as Rook bit into Malice's left shoulder, allowing a touch of venom into the appoplexian; not enough to kill, but certainly enough to make him disoriented and weak. Rath then followed up with a swift knee to Malice's groin. Letting out a kitten whimper, tears flowing down his face, Malice fell into the fetal position as Rath got to his feet.

"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, MISTER BAD-TOUCH MALICE!" Rath then roared over Malice's prone figure, before turning to point at Rook. "THE ONLY ONE WHO'S GONNA PIN RATH DOWN IS ROOK BLONKO: LOVE OF MY LIFE, DEVOTED DATE, BEAUTIFUL BEAU, AND THE ONE WHO GETS TO ROCK HIS HIPS INTO MINE!"

"Yeah, Heart-Babe! And I rock your world with that rocking!" Rook crows out in glee, grinning like mad, before blowing a kiss to Rath who pretended to swat it aside but grinned nonetheless.

"YEAH, WELL, DON'T GET USED TO IT! IF ANYTHING, RATH WILL BE THE ONE TO PIN YOU DOWN IN THE MEXT MATCH!" Rath shouted up to Rook.

Rook crossed his arms together, and rests his chin on the back of them as he leaned on the ledge before replying, "Anytime, amber-face. Anytime."

And with that, the semi-final matches began with Fistina versus Fistrick. Though it was less of a fight than it was an example in how foolish a notion 'honor' could be. With but a single press of a button, Fistrick completely disabled Fistina's body and brought it tumbling down in pieces. At hearing Fistrick claim that that was "how he rolled", Ben turned to Rook, who was cheering loudly at what he thought was a brilliant tactic, and said, "If you even  _think_  of cheating in our match, we're done! Got it?"

Rook turned to Ben with a dashing, if not rogue-ish, grin and replied, "Loud and clear, Heart-Babe."

Somehow, Ben doubted the sincerity of those words. Still, it sent an odd thrill through his body to see the normally honorable and honest Rook Blonko act so...

' _So Kevin-ish?_ ' his inner-voice supplied, to which Ben had to shake his head furiously to get such a ridiculous thought out. Seriously, why would Ben want Rook to act that way? ' _Because as much as you_ _ **love**_ _good boys, you_ _ **lust**_ _for bad boys_ ,' the inner-voice supplied again.

' _Okay, now is not the time for this_ ," Ben told his inner-voice before heading down to the ring for his match with Rook.

Once in position, Ben quickly activated his Omnitrix. His only hope was to bring back Rath. The Omnitrix, though, had other plans. "Upchuck?!" Upchuck cried in alarm and confusion. What the hell am I supposed to do,  _eat_  my fiance?!"

"And I bet I'm good to last drop," Rook purred from across the pit before pulling out his 'Bro-to-Tool' and firing a volley of shots.

Upchuck quickly opened wide and swallowed before giving them back with interest, hitting Rook square in the chest and slamming him against the wall.

Shaking off the hit with a grin, Rook said, "Alright! Now we got us a fight!" He then morphed the 'Bro-to-Tool' into a tonfa and rushed Upchuck. However he didn't account for Upchuck ingesting the scoreboard hanging above them and firing it at him, once more hurtling him into the wall behind him. This time, though, Rook didn't get up.

"Rook!" Upchuck cried before running over to Rook, turning back into Ben just as he reached the prone figure. "Blonko, are you okay? I didn't mean..." Ben fretted.

"Good one, Flame-Bro," Rook purred before quickly grabbing Ben's arm and pulling him down before rolling on top of him, straddling the brunette and pinning him down. "But let's not forget who the 'Top' in this relationship is, Heart-Babe," Rook gloated as he proceeded to kiss Ben while slowly grinding his crotch into Ben's.

Ben gasped in surprise and pleasure, allowing Rook to shoot his forked-tongue into Ben's mouth and have it's way with the moist and delicious cavern.

Ben didn't even care that he lost the match. Nor did he care that Rook was turning out to be quite the exhibitionist.

"Now, tell me that wasn't a hell of a knockout," Rook purred as he ended the heated kiss.

Ben had no words. He just wrapped his arms and legs around Rook and hoped he understood that Ben was in no state to walk on his own.

Once the ring was clear, Slix Vigma took center stage one last time to announce the final match of the evening...the match that would decide the winner of the tournament. One at a time spotlight's came down upon the two competitors as Slix announced their names, each of them making quite an entrance with their sic dance moves.

The moment the bell rang, both punks raised their fists and began to circle each other around the room, gauging their enemy and waiting to see who would make the first move.

"Wassup, Bro?" Fistrick called out to Rook.

"Wassup, huh?" Rook responded.

_**-BRoken-** _

In the lobby/training room, watching as the various other aliens either exercised or recovered from their lost matches, Ben found himself recovering as well. Not from a beat-down, but from the hot little make-out Rook used to pin him down until he was timed out. The young brunette was burning all over and had to fan himself while drinking cold water to help cool off. As he did, though, his mind whirled at faster than light speeds.

At first, Ben had been very anxious about Rook acting so...Levin-ish. But upon closer inspection, the differences between 'Punk Rook' and Levin were glaringly obvious!

First of all, 'Punk Rook' was  _very_  insistent that everyone know that Ben was Rook's 'Heart-Babe'. Second of all, he was in no way ashamed of being with Ben and initiating PDA with Ben! If anything, he loved showing just how passionate he could be towards Ben!

Ben was conflicted: he adored his prim and proper Blonko, but he certainly could learn to appreciate 'Punk Rook' with his blatant affection and lustful actions.

Forgetting where he was, Ben rubbed his hands up and down his body, remembering the sensation of Rook rocking into him. They had never been that intimate before, and Ben was loathe to forget the feeling.

He was pulled from his fantasy when he heard Fistina say, "Little guards, is that where the golden fist is kept?"

Ben looked up to see Fistina posing seductively (or what she assumed was seductive) for the alien guards.

"I would do anything for a look at it," she cooed at the guards, who remained stotic. "No? not even a tiny peek?" she asked, fluttering her eyes coyly. The guards, though, remained steadfast and ignored her attempts. Seeing as she was getting no reaction from the two guards, Fistina narrowed her eyes in contempt and huffed out a, "Fine!" before grabbing both their heads and smacking them together, knocking them unconscious.

"Okay, this could be a problem," Ben said to himself as he got up to go after Fistina, who was now breaking into the prize room.

_**-BRoken-** _

Fistrick and Rook were still circling each other as they hurled taunts at each other, trying to goad one another into making the first move. The audience finally lost their patience when the two started having a dance off; their dissatisfaction expressed through the tossing of food stuffs at the competitors bodies. When Fistrick looked up to see who hit him with a soda-cup, Rook found his opening to tackle Fistrick.

"Oh, it's like  _that_?" Fistrick growled before he pulled back his legs to through Rook into the air and punch him in the chest as he fell. This maneuver was stopped dead in its tracks by Rook grabbing Fistrick's arm and hurling him through the air before slamming both his hands together into Fistrick's chest.

"No disrespect, but you punch like my mother," Fistrick snarked despite being winded.

"Then I wish your mother was here, 'cause she'd put up a fight," Rook snarked back before he cannonballed nto Fistrick's chest.

"Ugh!" Fistrick cried out.

"No disrespect," Rook mocked.

"Then how about this for disrespect?" Fistrick growled as he struggled to stand up. "Your boyfriend is a cheap. Tawdry. Easy. Piece. Of used.  _Junk_."

Rook's eyes twitched with each word, the pupils turning into slits, and claws popping out of his gloves while gritting his teeth tightly.

"What do you do you say to  _that_ , Bro?" Fistrick taunted with a smirk at the visibly angry Rook.

"Your boyfriend, Corvo, wants to wait till marriage to have sex, has a job, and is a respected member of the Community!" Rook hissed out, smiling at the volcanic rage that burst from Fistrick.

"NOBODY TALKS ABOUT, MY CORVO LIKE THAT!" Fistrick bellowed as he charged at Rook, never seeing the spin kick that Rook sent his way until it was too late.

"Well, nobody talks about my Ben like that, Bro. So we're even," Rook hissed at the unconscious body.

"Well, folks, it looks like we have a-"

Slix Vigma's announcement was interrupted by a certain arburian pelarota crashing through the wall with Fistina following behind him.

"Fistina has been beaten...yet she has stolen the golden fist and is back in the fight!" Slix Vigma cried, much to the cheers of the audience. "This is a disaster!"

Rook's eyes quickly left Fistrick's unconscious body and took in the sight of Cannonbolt thrown up against the wall and looking a little weary. "HEART-BABE!" Rook cried before turning to Fistina and roaring like a lion. "YOU WILL NOT LAY A FINGER ON  _MY_  BEN TENNYSON!"

Fistina cowered a little both at the tone of Rook's voice and the dark look he was giving her. "But...little Rook...he wouldn't let me have the golden fist," she explained in a slightly scared tone.

In response, Rook held up his right hand, wicked sharp claws still out, and said with a deadly calm voice, "Hand over the fist and walk away, or I'll put these right between your eyes,  _bitch_."

Insult over-riding fear (no one ever called Fistina a 'bitch' and lived to tell the tale), Fistina positioned herself to attack Rook. But then she stopped and looked over to Ben, who had reverted to his human form already, and sighed. "Oh, little Rook," she said, "I could never  _really_  hurt you and your beloved; your both too cute...even with that stupid haircut and gorgeously scary threatening tone of voice of yours." She then detached the golden fist from her arm and set it down. "Take good care of it... _big_  Rook," she said before walking away.

_**-BRoken-** _

"So, we went to clubs, made out, you taught me how to fix the 'Broto-Truck'," Ben explained before adding in a fake scolding tone, "Though you were for more interested in examining  _my_  'dip stick' than the 'Broto-Truck's." The brunette couldn't help but grin at the horrified look on Rook's face. "We ate out a lot, spoon fed lots of different desserts to each other, played glow in the dark bowling, and went out at midnight to play naked frisbee in the park."

"Bralla-Dah!" Rook exclaimed in shock.

Ben just smile coyly. "Yeah, and that's not even the half of it! All in all, not a bad month."

* * *

**Episode 58: Universe vs. Tennyson**

"Yeah, and that's not even the half of it! All in all, not a bad month."

"Could we  _please_  talk about something else?" Rook pleaded with Ben as they drove in the newly un-Bro-ed ProtoTRUK. Ben had just been regaling Rook with the details of the last 30 days in which he had been behaving like Fistrick! Rook was terribly embarrassed and ashamed, though a part of him felt a sort of satisfaction at having his repressed passions thrown to the surface. "Honestly, Beloved, such behavior in a revonnahgander is just...just... _unbecoming_!"

Ben gave Rook an understanding smile and replied, "Rook, there's nothing to be ashamed of. I was touched and honored to find that deep down you had all this passion for me. It was nice to see you let loose and practically scream at the top of your lungs every day just how much you loved me."

Rook looked over to Ben and replied, "Of course I love you, but revonnahgander tradition dictates that such wild and unadulterated passions must be kept in the privacy of the...bedroom."

Ben blushed, and whispered, "Try telling that to 'Fist-Rook'."

"Fist-Rook?" Rook asked.

"It's the name I came up with for your Fistrick-influenced self," Ben answered.

"Out of the mouths of Tennysons..." Rook muttered with an affectionate smile.

Ben rolled his eyes and said, "Anyways...my whole point is that this experience has made me come to love and appreciate you even more. Even if I only see your passions in the bedroom, at least now I know for certain that they are there. I never got that kind of certainty with Kevin."

After turning on the auto-driver, Rook turned to Ben with a heated gaze and said, "You need not  _ever_  forget my passion for you, Beloved Emerald." And before Ben could say anything back, Rook grabbed a fist full of Ben's hair and pulled the brunette into a deep kiss. While Rook's tongue explored Ben's moist cavern, his other hand (that wasn't tangled in Ben's brown mop) moved up and down Ben's thigh. When they broke apart, Rook could not help but grin at Ben's dazed look.

"Now that...," Ben huffed, "...is what I'm talking about!" After taking a few deep breaths to bring his heart rate back down he said, "Not that I don't appreciate the flavor of revonnahgander in my mouth, but I could really use a smoothie."

Minutes later, Ben was slurping down a smoothie with only minimum satisfaction. With a sigh he said, "You know, ever since I used Alien X to recreate the universe, the grape flavor just doesn't taste the same."

"Is it not possible that Mr. Smoothie has changed the recipe?" Rook asked as he undid the auto-drive to steer the Proto-TRUK himself.

Ben mock pouted at Rook and whined, "How can you still not believe me? Me?! Your 'Beloved Emerald'? 'Your Hearts Flame'?"

Rook tried to give Ben a reprimanding frown, but it was marred by a distinct upward tugging of at the corners of his mouth. The blasted brunette imp! "Given that I and the rest of the entire universe have  _no memory_  of it's destruction or-" Rook's eyes widened as he quickly swerved the truck; his arm going out to brace Ben as they were nearly jackknifed when a truck almost hit them dead on.

While Rook was checking Ben for injuries, the hero stuck his head out of the sunroof and got a glimpse of the truck that nearly wrecked them.

"Beloved! Are you alright?" Rook asked in a breathless tone.

"Blonko, that's Mr. Baumann's truck!" Ben shouted in alarm. Immediately, Ben got back into his seat as Rook kicked the Proto-TRUK into high-gear; quickly backing it up, turning it around, and following after the familiar delivery truck. Rook saw his chance as Mr. Baumann's truck stopped at a red light, and so pulled up alongside it. Ben rolled down the window and leaned out to shout, "Mr. Baumann, are you okay?!" Ben was deeply concerned as he could see that Mr. Baumann was badly shaking as he kept his eyes straight ahead.

"Huh? Uhh...everything's fine, Ben!" Mr. Baumann called back placatingly before his face was smashed into the steering wheel, resulting in a loud honk, as a familiar punk criminal made his presence known.

"You heard the man! Back off, Bro!" Fistrick shouted.

And with that, Fistrick forced Mr. Baumann to put the truck into full reverse and drive off.

Without a moment's hesitation, Blonko sped after him. "I have a score to settle with that lowlife," the revonnahgander hissed. "It was because of  _him_  that I acted so undignified!"

"I know this isn't really the best time for this," Ben said, "but to be completely honest, I'm pretty conflicted. On the one hand, I want the lowlife back in his cell at Plumber HQ...with increased security. But on the other hand, I really want to thank him for creating that chemical that turned you into 'Fist-Rook'."

Rook looked at Ben with utter disbelief. Mr. Baumann, their  _friend_ , was in trouble and Ben wanted to  _thank_  the criminal that had caused it?! "You are right, Beloved...this really  _isn't_  the best time for that!"

Ben chuckled and replied in a cheeky tone, "Oh, trust me...when you see the video footage, and you will, you'll want to thank him too."

Rook tried to ignore Ben, but he found it impossible to hold back the blush that was turning the white of his face to a deep mauve. Luckily he was given something else to focus on as they followed Baumann's truck into a construction site. Rook activated the speaker system on the truck, and spoke into the microphone. "By the authority of the Plumbers, I hereby request that you pull over the vehicle, sir!" Rook ordered.

Ben grabbed the mike and added, "Don't you dare harm a single white hair on Mr. Baumann's head, Fistrick! Just because you turned Rook into a wild, sexy bad-boy doesn't mean I won't kick your-"

Ben was cut off when Rook took the mike from Ben's hand, leveling him with a stern frown. "Not. The. Best. Time!" Rook reminded Ben, but was quickly shocked out of his reprimand when Ben grabbed the steering wheel and drove off the pathway, nearly landing on top of Baumann's truck, causing it to crash into a crane holding up several steel beams, which nearly impaled the truck as it swerved away. Rook swatted Ben's hands off of the steering wheel and initiated a tense and difficult maneuver of avoiding the steel beams themselves.

Luckily for them, they served.

Unluckily for the owner of the under-construction building, it didn't.

"What?" Ben asked at Rook's irritated look. " _What_?! I can go back as clockwork and fix it later!"

"That is beside the point!" Rook cried. "That was not proper procedure for a vehicle stop!"

"Come on, Babe. This is me we're talking about. I never follow procedures; I just get results!" Ben said lightly.

"So long as you are engaged, and eventually married, to me, you will!" Rook insisted, but quickly realized that this had fallen on deaf ears; Ben had transformed into Ditto and jumped onto the roof of Baumann's truck. "Brallah-Da," Rook grumbled to himself as he made an effort to keep close to the truck in case Ben fell off the roof.

Meanwhile, Fistrick was shooting at Ditto, and missing every time. So he threw his gun and actually managed to hit the boy-turned-alien in the face. But as Fistrick got back into the truck to celebrate his triumph, a pair of white hands covered his eyes.

"Guess who?" one of Ditto's clones mocked as it and several others piled onto Fistrick. One grabbed his arm, another pulled on his mohawk spikes, and the other grabbed his mouth, pulling it back painfully.

"Hey, watch the spikes!" Fistrick shouted.

The original Ditto jumped in through the driver-side window and shielded Mr. Baumann with his body. "Leave my friend alone!" Ditto ordered the punk criminal.

"Ben, please! We've been on really good terms lately, but I'll be reconsidering our friendship if you make this worse!" Mr. Baumann pleaded/warned.

"Wha...how could I possibly-" the original Ditto started when his Omnitrix decided to time out, thus removing all the Dittos and only leaving Ben. "-make this worse?" Ben finished in a nervous tone.

"Mmm, hey, Good Looking," Fistrick purred with a leer, grabbing Ben and pinning him to the seat. "How's about you and me settle this with 'tongue wrestling'?" Fistrick suggested as he tried to shove his hand under a frightened Ben's shirt. He was stopped, though, by Mr. Baumann's fist, which landed squarely in Fistrick's face.

"YOU GET YOUR DAMN HANDS OFF HIM, YOU PUNK!" Mr. Baumann snarled.

The force of Mr. Baumann's punch was enough to make Fistrick hit the passenger-side door... _hard_.

Startled, Ben fell to the floor and landed on the gas pedal, thus speeding the truck right into Mr. Baumann's closed store.

Moments later, Rook pulled up to the store, fearful of the fate of both his Beloved and Mr. Baumann but relieved at the lack of any real explosion. Instead, a large, blocky, multicolored ball rolled out out the store before collapsing, revealing Mr. Baumann (safe and sound) and Fistrick (bound by Bloxx).

"Fistrick! You have the right to remain silent! Or, if you are a telepath, the right to refrain from  _all_  thought," Rook said, reading the punk his rights and keeping his Proto-Tool aimed at Fistrick in case he tried something. "You have the right to-" Rook continued but was cut off by loud throat clearing from Bloxx.

"Me and Mr. Baumann are fine, by the way," Bloxx stated in a petulant tone.

"As is  _most_  of my store," Mr. Baumann added, heaving a sigh of relief, "thank you for only  _one_  hole in  _one_  wall, Benjamin."

"No, thank  _you_. If you hadn't socked Fistrick in the face when he tried to molest me in the tru-" Bloxx froze, eyes widened in alarm at what he'd just revealed. Fistrick grimaced and sharply sucked in a breathe of fear as Rook's eyes narrowed angrily at the punk criminal. "Oh boy...probably shouldn't have mentioned that," Bloxx muttered.

"YOU SON OF A WOMAN OF ILL-REPUTE!" Rook growled as he lunged at Fistrick. Luckily for the criminal, Bloxx extended his arms and grabbed Rook, thus holding him back.

"Blonko! Procedure! What about Procedure?! You can't attack the criminal while he's in custody!" Bloxx cried out to Rook, trying to placate the enraged revonnahgander. The irony was not lost, though, on Bloxx; only moments earlier he'd completely defied procedure. Maybe there was something to be said for it.

"PROCEDURE CAN KISS MY BI'NTHAK!" Rook howled.

Bloxx frowned and said, "You know, I'm starting to think this is payback for me disregarding your earlier tirade about procedure. In which case, congratulations! I've learned my lesson! Now stop before I have to right you up for attempted homicide!"

Mr. Baumann chuckled at this and said, "You know it's bad when Ben Tennyson has to scold  _you_  of all people, Rook Blonko."

Between Bloxx and Mr. Baumann, Rook finally came to his senses and calmed down enough to be released. Taking the handcuffs from Rook, Ben personally slapped them on Fistrick and escorted him to the Proto-TRUK.

_**-BRoken-** _

Back at Plumbers HQ, Ben and Rook lead Fistrick down to the lower levels to be processed. Not really wanting to have to deal with all the messy paper-work, Ben handed over the responsibility to Rook, throwing in some puppy-dog eyes and a kiss for good measure. Rook rolled his eyes at the obvious manipulation, but agreed nonetheless; how could he not with those eyes and those lips?!

As Ben started walking in the opposite direction as Rook, he froze as a voice cried, "RELEASE MY CLIENT AT ONCE!" Ben's eyes looked around trying to locate the voice but could not find the source. Luckily it's source cleared it's throat and added, "Down here."

Standing before him was a galvan dressed in a suit and tie, carrying a briefcase! "Chadzmuth," the galvan said by way of introduction before tossing his briefcase to the floor and turning it into a floating pedestal so that he could stand at eye level with Ben. "No middle initial, no last name. Just Chadzmuth; intergalactic attorney at law. Now, I understand my client was pulled over in an improper vehicle stop and was not fully read his rights upon his arrest."

Ben frowned, incredulous at how this arrogant galvan could begin to think these technicalities mattered. "Yeah? Well your  _client_  also hijacked a delivery truck, blew up a store, and nearly blew up  _me_!" Ben said in defense.

"Let him go, Ben," Max said as he walked up to Ben and Chadzmuth, Patelliday at his side. Lately, the two had been spending even more time together than usual, and they tended to stand closer to each other than was necessary. Ben had pointed these out to Rook, who had simply shrugged it off, saying it wasn't their business. But Ben refused to let go of his suspicions.

"Unfortunately," Patelliday added, "Chadzmuth here has a legitimate case. We have no right to hold Fistrick."

"Just like the last time," Max growled in frustration.

"Wait, so  _that's_  how Fistrick got outta jail so fast?!" Ben exclaimed incredulously.

"Apparently, not only Fistrick," Rook said derisively as he looked at a jail cell roster.

"Those would be my other clients," Chadzmuth explained as Bubble Head and Sunder were released. "I'll sign for their release too."

"That is so not fair!" Ben cried.

Chadzmuth chuckled and replied, "The universe isn't fair, kid," before giving Molly his thumb print authorization for the release forms.

Ben frowned and said, "I don't know what your angle is, but-"

"There is no ' _angle_ ', Mr. Tennyson," Chadzmuth cut in. "While most galvans use their massive intellects for scientific pursuits, I have dedicated mine to becoming  _the_  greatest legal mind in the universe!"

As Chadzmuth spoke, Rook begrudgingly removed Fistrick's cuffs. As he did, Fistrick grinned and said, "I wonder what I should do first now that I'm free, bro."

"I would suggest trying to make something of yourself other than a lowly punk criminal," Rook seethed, highly displeased at the turn of events.

"Or maybe," Fistrick said so that only Rook could hear, "I'll get to Tennyson's 3rd base before  _you_ , bro."

"Put one finger on my Beloved, and there will not be a lawyer in the universe to save you," Rook hissed.

"Lookin' forward to the challenge,  _bro_ ," Fistrick mocked before walking off, laughing.

It was all Rook could do not to take him down right then and there.

_**-BRoken-** _

The rest of the day went from bad to worse as call after call came in of troublemakers either top-side in Bellwood, or below in Undertown. And just as Ben and Rook would place the criminals in their cell, Chadzmuth would show up to release them. The icing on the cake was later that night when they didn't even get a chance to  _arrest_  the criminal before Chadzmuth showed up!

"Who knows," Chadzmuth said with a mocking grin, "someday even the 'Great Ben Tennyson' may require my assistance."

"Never. Gonna. Happen," Ben replied.

No sooner had Ben said those words when a hole in the sky opened to reveal a group of Celestialsapians descending from the sky. The group consisted of several entities forming a circle around a single imposing bearded Celestialsapian that Ben dubbed 'Starbeard' in his mind.

_**"Ben Tennyson! Did you think it would escape our notice when you utilized your Celestialsapian form, Alien-X, to recreate the entire Universe and everything in it?!"**_  boomed the dual male/female voice of Starbeard.

"Told you," Ben said smugly as he aimed a triumphant grin at Rook.

_**"You are hereby charged with unauthorized alteration of reality, and for that...you. must. pay."** _

Ben let out a yell of terror, not realizing his actions would be condemned like this, before suddenly being distracted by the sight of Starbeard and the others vanishing.

"Beloved?" Rook turned a concerned glance toward Ben.

"This...might be serious," Ben said, frowning in fear, before vanishing before Rook's eyes.

"Ben? BEN!" Rook cried in alarm as he frantically looked around for signs of his Beloved. Finding none and fearing his Heart's Flame was gone for good, Rook fell to his knees, roaring out an anguished, "NOOOOOOO!"

"What the Juice?!" Ben exclaimed as he found himself in what seemed like a floating courtroom in the middle of space, completely open to the frigid vacuum but...not. He also noticed several cameras zooming about, filming the events that were about to transpire to who knew where. To his left was another platform, like his own, in which sat Starbeard. At that moment, a third platform floated before them, in which sat a Highbreed bailiff who announced their case. This, of course, drew Ben's attention to the spire before them, at the top of which sat a very familiar judge.

"Judge Domstol?" Ben exclaimed in shock.

"Benjamin Kirby Tennyson, the prosecution states that you did willfully and deliberately alter the fabric of reality. In violation of the Multiverse Preservation Act," Domstol said, giving Ben a flat stare. "How do you plead?"

"Innocent!" Ben cried as he looked up at Domstol pleadingly. "Dom! You remember me, don't you? You can't let me be punished for this; I was only acting in regards to the safety of the Universe! Plus, I can't go to intergalactic jail! I've still got two more years, or so, before I can marry my fiance!"

Domstol gave Ben a baleful frown. "I hope you're not stating that you and that miscreant Kevin Levin are engaged."

"No!" Ben declared incredulously. "We're...well, I'm not sure what we are. It turns out he was the victim of brainwashing, and the after-effects have called his past actions into question."

"It is true, Sir," the bailiff spoke up. "My leader, Reinrassic III, told me of Ben Tennyson's engagement to one Rook Blonko, a respectable and highly dependable Plumber agent from the planet Revonnah."

Ben smiled at this. "Reiny said that?"

"He did, indeed," the bailiff said, a smile in his tone of voice.

"Well, that's a good sign, then," Ben replied. "He didn't much approve of Kevin. I really should give him a call sometime."

"If we could bring the focus of this court back to the matter at hand," Domstol interrupted. "While I'm pleased to hear that you are making good decisions in regards to your love life, I am not so pleased to hear you making bad decisions in regards to the alien forms you have at your disposal via the Omnitrix."

"But...can't you make it...," Ben made a weak waving motion, "go away, like before?"

"As much as I respect the great Ben Tennyson, and his better selection of romantic partners," Judge Domstol said, "this is a  _massive_  class action lawsuit involving the entire Universe and everyone in it. Regretfully, it is out of my hands."

Ben's mouth contorted in confusion as several cameras suddenly flew up to him.

"This trial is being broadcasted to quadrillions of beings, who will vote on your 'Guilt' or 'Innocence'."

On Khoros, every tetramand and visitor looked at the image of Ben Tennyson standing trial in awe. None more so than the Princess and her groom. Looma Red-Wind was reclining on a couch, her fiance Manny Armstrong draped over her shoulders as he massaged her shoulders. Manny leaned in with a leer before sealing his lips to Looma's. The sultry and passionate kiss was interrupted, however, when Looma gasped in alarm.

"Darling!" Looma exclaimed as Manny frowned in confusion. "It's Ben!"

Manny quickly looked to the screen and gaped in surprise.

"Shit!" Manny swore as his four eyes widened in surprise, mirroring Looma's. "I bet Blonko's having a field day with this!"

"The poor dear is probably clawing at the walls of the space/time continuum trying to get to him," Looma noted in concern.

Back in the courtroom, Judge Domstol exclaimed in fake excitements, "But wait, there's more! Baliff?"

An odd device like a digital scale suddenly materialized.

"This device is capable of keeping a 100% accurate tally of every single vote in the universe, in real time," the Baliff explained before his tone turned

sympathetic. "Take some comfort in knowing that while I can not vote in your defense, Ben Tennyson, all of the other Highbreed surely will."

Ben tried to take some comfort in that, but it was marginal at best.

"And one lucky voter will win a fabulous prize!" Domstol exclaimed, causing all eyes to turn to him. "Hey, how do you think we raise funds for broadcasting

this across the universe?" the judge muttered defensively. "Is your lawyer coming, Ben 10, or are you defending yourself, which I strongly suggest against."

"Do I get a court appointed one?" Ben asked worriedly as he rummaged through his pockets. "Because where am I gonna get a-"

Ben's words faltered as a familiar business card popped out of his pocket: Chadzmuth's.

"Awww, man!" Ben groaned as he activated the card, which projected an image of Chadzmuth. "Ugh, I'm so gonna need a bath after this," Ben groaned. But soon the

smug Lawyer Chadzmuth appeared beside Ben, smugly stating how he never lost a case.

"How many cases have you argued before the Galactic High Court?" Ben asked Chadzmuth.

"Including this one?" The Galvan paused to consider. "One."

Ben looked intensely worried, and Chadzmuth took some pity on Ben to comfort him.

"This will be a walk in the park; all they have are character witnesses. NOTHING to worry about it."

"You say that, and yet.." Ben crossed his arms nervously.

"The universe calls to the witness stand," the bailiff announced, "Mr. Ignacious Baumann!"

And like that, Mr. Baumann appeared on the pedestal at the foot of the judges spire. The grocery store owner blinked in surprise and looked around before saying, "What's going on? W-Where am I?" When his eyes met Ben's, the grocery store owner sighed and asked, "What sort of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?"

Any response from the brunette teenager was interrupted by Judge Domstol's face appearing on the witness stand's screen saying, "Please, just do your best to recall any personal interactions you've had with the accused."

And with that, the head-rest of Mr. Baumann's seat wrapped around his head as a giant view screen began to play various scenes of Ben's and Igancious' past interactions. Every single one of them involved Ben destroying Mr. Baumann's car, house, or store. As Mr. Baumann watched, he paled slightly before saying in a stern tone, "Now just one minute! I'll grant you that Ben can be a bull in a china shop, but the boy's never had anything less but the purest intentions...most of the time. I'd wager at least 80% of all those scenes were just collateral damage from him trying to capture some criminal!"

And as Mr. Baumann spoke, the scenes started up again, but with context: many of the earlier scenes now included Ben walking away with some criminal in his custody.

"Let's see what our home viewers have to say about that," Judge Domstol said, a hint of satisfaction in his tone that maybe... _maybe_...Ben had a chance.

And indeed, the votes seemed to weigh in Ben's favor, if only marginally. Saving the Earth or not, collateral damage was collateral damage.

"Huh, this might actually be easier than I thought," Chadzmuth mused before flying his floating briefcase over to Mr. Baumann. "So, you're saying that more often than not my client has had nothing but the best of intentions?"

"Yes," Mr. Baumann answered emphatically.

"And what of the community? To the best of your knowledge does my client tend to do what's best for the community?"

"Absolutely," Mr. Baumann answered. "Especially for the children of Undertown. No matter what he's doing he always has time to play a game of soccer with them, or regale them with stories. I remember a time when Undertown was more of a slum than a refuge for non-terrans living on Earth; and the youth were the cause. They had no one to look up to, no one to guide them and keep them on the straight and narrow. As I understand it, many of Undertown's youth today intend to join the Plumbers because of Benjamin Tennyson!"

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one?" Chadzmuth asked.

"Indeed," Ignacious answered.

"No further questions," Chadzmuth stated as he floated back to Ben.

_**"Your Honor,"**_  Starbeard said,  _ **"the prosecution would like to call its own witness."**_

And in the blink of an eye, Mr. Baumann was replaced with Rook.

"Rook!" Ben cried.

"Ben!" Rook cried back in relief before glaring daggers at Starbeard. "How dare you call forth this trial! Even if my Beloved  _did_  re-create the universe then all of you," at this he turned to face the images of all the beings in the universe, "should be thankful; else you would not exist anymore!"

_**"Rook Blonko,"**_  Starbeard said, cutting off any further tirade,  _ **"would you characterize your partner, Ben Tennyson, as someone who flagrantly disregards regulations and procedure?"**_

Rook furrowed his brow, realizing that the honest answer would do his Beloved more harm than good. His only hope would be to twist the truth in a positive manner.

"Please answer the question, Mr. Rook," Judge Domstol prodded with a hint of sympathy, after sensing Rook's hesitation.

"Ben is a being of action," Rook finally answered. "He recognizes that in the heat of the moment, hesitation could result in failure to apprehend, or successfully combat, criminals. This is why we make such an effective team: where I can be, at times, 'bogged down in procedure', Ben is free to make the split-second decision needed to accomplish our goals, and where he is incapable of discretion, I am fully capable of reminding him how to proceed."

_**"Is your answer to my question 'yes'?"**_  Starbeard asked impatiently.

Rook's brow furrowed further and replied, "I have already given you my answer. Take from it what you will."

"Then I will rephrase-"

"Objection!" Chadzmuth cried. "Your honor, the witness has already answered the posed question honestly. To rephrase would mean that the prosecution is fishing for a desired answer."

"Sustained," Judge Domstol ruled. "The prosecution will just have to take from the witness's answer what they will."

Starbeard's eyes narrowed, but he/she/it backed down nonetheless, allowing for Chadzmuth to cross-examine. "Now then," Chadzmuth said, "please focus your thoughts, and describe for the court the  _alleged_  crime you  _allegedly_  witnessed."

The universe then watched as the Vreedle borthers fumbled in their attempt to catch the Annihilaarg...and then nothing happened.

"The  _universe_  and  _everything_  in it was  _not destroyed_!" Chadzmuth exclaimed emphatically. Chadzmuth then looked up at Judge Domstol and said, "Your Honor, the prosecution has utterly failed to prove not only that my client committed the crime of which he is being accused, but that  _any_  crime was even  _committed_!"

And with that, the votes continued to climb in Ben's favor.

"Yes!" Ben cried in relief and victory. "Innocent! Thank you universe!"

_**"The prosecution would like to call one last witness to the stand,"**_  Starbeard declared.  _ **"Benjamin Kirby Tennyson."**_

Rook was teleported from the witness stand to the defense platform while, at the exact same time, Ben was transported to the witness stand himself.

_**"I enter for the record exhibit 'A': a medical examination report as performed by the galvans of the Plumber Organization, Blukic And Driba,"**_  Starbeard stated.

Hearing the words 'medical examination', Ben's eyes bulged in alarm. Rook, on the other hand, simply looked from the report that had just materialized to Ben in confusion. "Medical Examination?" he murmured to himself.

_**"Mr. Tennyson, please tell the court, did you or did you not request an examination by the galvans Blukic and Driba?"**_  Starbeard inquired.

"I don't have to tell you anything, that's privileged doctor/patient information!" Ben exclaimed, boldly defying the celestialsapian.

_**"Not so,"**_  the voice of Starbeard smugly informed Ben.  _ **"While they are most certainly licensed to practice medicine on their homeworld, they are NOT certified to do so on Earth. And given that the medical examination was performed on Earth, the normal laws of doctor/patient confidentiality are waived."**_

"Is that true? Does it not count if they are not licensed on Earth?" Rook anxiously asked Chadzmuth.

"Unfortunately, yes," Chadzmuth answered reluctantly. "Though their work will be accepted by the court, officially there's nothing baring their report from being used as evidence."

_**"Now, answer the question, Mr. Tennyson,"**_  Starbeard demanded.

"...Yes," Ben answered in a defeated tone as he wrapped his arms around himself, shaken and in disbelief. "I did go to them for a full examination."

_**"And why is that?"**_  Starbeard inquired.

"I...Well..." Ben was beyond mortified; he was being forced to admit to something so personal, and in front of the entire Universe. Not only that, but his fiancé, who he had never told.

_**"Did it have something to do with your past relationship with one Kevin Ethan Levin?"**_  Starbeard slyly asked.

That question had everyone in the entire universe jumping, gasping, or stumbling in surprise. Sandra dropped a bowl of tofu she had been mixing, Gwen's spell blew up in her face, and Kevin, who was driving down a country road, crashed his car!

"H-How..." Ben looked frantically from Starbeard to Rook, who looked at Ben intensely, unsure as to why Ben hid this from him, but willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Please, Benjamin," Judge Domstol cut off Ben's stammers with a firm but soft voice. "Just answer the question."

"Yes. It was in relation to my previous relationship with Kevin," Ben admitted with a sick expression.

_**"And what was it that you had changed?"**_  Starbeard probed deeper.

"I object! The prosecution is badgering my client!" Chadzmuth shouted in outrage.

"Sustained," Judge Domstol ruled, frowning at Starbeard. "The prosecution is treading on dangerous grounds."

_**"Your Honor, Ben Tennyson's privacy was voided when he re-created the universe for his own selfish ends!"**_  Starbeard boomed in outrage equal to Chadzmuth's.

"I DID IT TO SAVE EVERYONE! NOTHING I DID WAS OUT OF MY OWN SELFISHNESS! I SAW THE UNIVERSE DESTROYED AND I SAVED IT!" Ben shouted back at Starbeard.

"And while you were doing it, you reversed your body to a point in time before Kevin Levin slept with you!" Starbeard roared as he/she/it narrowed his/hers/ its white eyes at Ben.

The hero was flabbergasted, falling back into his seat with his mouth open.

_**"You had lost your virginity to an individual you were no longer in love with, but when you recreated the Universe,"**_  Starbeard carried on like nothing happened,  _ **"you decided to restore your virginity; de-aging yourself by one year in the process.** **"**_  Starbeard then turned to point at Rook.  _ **"And it was all because you had fallen in love with one Rook Blonko,"**_  Starbeard continued,  _ **"who you felt would resent you for him not being your first. And so you decided to use the powers of Alien-X so as to calm your own irrational fears and keep the love of your revonnaghander fiancé."**_

Ben couldn't take anymore.

"ALRIGHT, YES! I RECREATED THE UNIVERSE! AND IN DOING SO, I REVERSED THE STATUS AND AGE OF MY BODY! BUT I ONLY DID IT TO ERASE ALL TRACES OF KEVIN, WHO I THOUGHT HAD USED ME AND THREW ME AWAY! I WAS DISTRAUGHT!" Ben cried out, slamming his hands down onto his podium. "So, in the back of my head," Ben continued, defeatedly, "I thought of how I'd like to be...pure. And Alien-X caused it to happen."

Unable to hold back anymore, Ben buried his face into his arms and started to sob uncontrollably.

_**"Your Honor, I rest my case,"**_  Starbeard said victoriously.

Immediately, Ben was moved back to the defense's podium where he tried desperately to look at anything  _but_  Rook.

"Ben..." Rook tried, not sure himself what he wanted to say, but feeling the need to say  _something_! Turning to Chadzmuth, Rook asked, "Is there anything you can do? Perhaps, a bargain?!"

Chadzmuth rubbed his chin in a deep-thinking posture. "Eh, it's possible, but it would have to be something good to get the celestialsapiens to agree to. Did you have something in mind?"

At that, Rook quickly examined everything he'd learned in the last few minutes: Ben had, indeed, re-created the universe; he reverted his body to slightly younger state in which he was still a virgin; Ben felt it worth risking retribution (even if he hadn't known it would lead to it) for Rook to be his first; the celestialsapiens were offended by such use of their omnipotence. And like a lightbulb turning on in his mind, he knew what had to be done.

Quickly whispering his idea into Chadzmuth's ear, he sat back and watched the glavan go to work on what would surely be their last chance; already the votes were trickling towards Ben's guilt.

"Your Honor, if it pleases the Court, the defense would like to request a bargain from the prosecution," Chadzmuth said.

Starbeard arched a single brow, curious despite himself/herself/itsself.

"If the prosecution has no objection, then the court will now hear your bargain," Judge Domstol said, looking to Starbeard with almost a hint of contempt. One could almost hear the judge hissing under his breath about how the arrogant demi-god race should hear the galvan out.

When Starbeard gave no outward sign of objection, Chadzmuth said, "The defense requests that the universe be left as it is, and that my client be released. In return, my client will waive all alterations he made to himself whilst re-creating the universe."

Ben gasped and looked to Rook, horrified that his fiance would not get to take him first.

Rook could only smile and say, "After all this time you still do not get it: it is my important to me that I get you  _at all_ , than it is that I get you  _first_."

Ben's eyes flooded with tears before throwing himself at his fiance. "I-I'm s-s-sorry, Rook! I just...I wanted..."

"Shhh, there is nothing anyone could do that would make me want you less, and every day you inevitably do something that only serves to make me want you more," Rook said in a comforting tone as he rubbed soothing circles into Ben's back.

Grinning in victory as he realized the direction to take, Chadzmuth turned to Starbeard and said, "As you can see, my client is clearly contrite; he acknowledges that his extraneous alteration was a mistake. But what  _none_  of you can deny," at this, he spoke to the universe at large, "is that without Ben Tennyson re-creating the universe,  _none_  of us would be here today! None of us would even  _exist_!" Turning back to Starbeard, Chadzmuth narrowed his eyes and grinned smugly as he added, "And you and your people wouldn't have any toys to play with."

Starbeard's eyes narrowed in return, but the celestialsapien could not deny that his race would...prefer...if the universe as it was remained in existence; it really would be a pill to create a whole new one from scratch. After what felt like an eternity for the court, Starbeard rose and said,  _ **"We accept the defense's bargain."**_

_**-BRoken-** _

"So, do I look any different?" Ben asked Rook as the latter walked the former home.

"I believe you have gained an inch or two of height," Rook commented, having been allowed to keep his memories of Ben's alterations. The memories were only partial, though, to prevent the paradox from wreaking havoc with Rook's consciousness. "And your hair is a bit shaggier; curious what only a year can do," he added after a beat with a teasing tone as he ran a hand through the brunette lockes.

Ben blushed and giggled, allowing the hand in his hair to move down to his waist and pull him close to the warm body it was attached to. Once he calmed down, he said said to Rook in a solemn tone, "I guess I should have told you early on about this, huh?"

"At the time, we did not need the services of Madame Atris to help us air out our problems," Rook answered simply.

"But even after," Ben pressed, "I should have told you. I'm sorry."

Rook stopped and maneuvered Ben around so that he was standing in front of him and looking at him eye-to-eye. "You have nothing to apologize for, Beloved," Rook said with a gentle smile. "I am touched that you wanted so badly to be pure for me. And when the time comes, I promise to show you just how pure you still are."

Ben could only smile as he pulled Rook down for a kiss.

**END VOLUME XVI**


	23. Volume XVII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are! The final chapter of an amazing journey that took roughly two and a half years (my God, this really did start in 2012!). A big shout-out to BBB35 who became my co-author and helped me continue forward. And a very special shout-out to Bramblerose4, who helped me edit this particular chapter.
> 
> I know many of you are sad to see this fic come to a close, but to me it's a relief. So far as I know, I was the first person to write this pairing back in 2012. I staid with the fandom throughout the run of the series and did my utmost to present as much of the series to you guys in the form of this fic. I founded a club on DeviantArt dedicated to shipping BRoken and it's still going strong! And now that this pairing is good and well established, it's time for me to bow out and let you guys take it from here. Thank you to those who've staid with me from the beginning, and thank you to those who've joined along the way. And to those spare few of you anonymous reviewers who hated on me and my writing? Go suck Servantis' dick! XD

**Episode 59 & 60: Weapon XI – Part 1 & 2**

It was a gorgeous summer day, and Alan Albright wanted to spend it fixing up the old clunker he'd bought for next to nothing from the junkyard. In the year since he'd met Ben Tennyson the Plumbers had granted him a place of his own, isolated from people, where he could live in peace and quiet while learning to control his pyronite abilities. This isolation included correspondence from the friends he'd made.

His work on the car, though, was interrupted by the sound of the barn door opening and two pairs of feet stepping inside. Getting out from under the car and standing up, Alan suddenly tensed as he saw who was there.

"Hey, Alan. Long time," Kevin said with a smile, as if he really were greeting an old friend instead of the guy he had tried to kill while leeching his alien DNA.

"What do you want, Kevin?" Alan asked sharply, a frown adorning his face. "Last time you showed up, you drained my power!"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Kevin replied sheepishly.

" _Sorry_?! Oh! Goodness, me!" Alan exclaimed, feigning astonishment. "Kevin Levin is sorry! Let's go grab a pie from the window sill, cut us a couple of slices, and let bygones be bygones!" As Alan spoke he walked closer and closer to Alan, waving his wrench about. Oh how he'd like to slug the damn raven over the head with the thing.

"Wait a minute, there's pie?" Argit asked, turning his head this way and that to find it, his tongue lolling out the side.

Kevin sighed and replied, "Okay, okay, I get it. I did wrong by you, and I have no excuse. But I really am sorry; of all the people in this world you are  _totally_  the last person I want to hurt. All I'm here for is to talk. Honest."

"Aw, I'm so honored!" Alan said in a sarcastic tone. "But frankly, I don't care! Now either you get off my property or I call the cops."

Kevin held up his hands in surrender. "Okay. I get it. Not in the mood to talk. So how about I show you?" And with that, the index and middle finger of Kevin's right hand sparked and crackled with energy. Kevin then made to take a step towards Alan, but the boy jumped back and blazed into his pyronite form.

"Stay back!" he growled.

"Oh, for cryin' out-  _lose the barbeque, kid_!" Argit cried derisively. "You ain't in any danger."

Of course, no sooner had Argit said that, than a certain female aerophibian/human hybrid crashed through the barn roof.

"Okay,  _now we're in danger_!" Argit screamed.

Kevin and Argit were immediately flung out of the the barn door by a explosion of fire, while Agent Swift was sent right out the way she'd come in via a flame blast from Alan. As for the half-pyronite, he hurried out of the barn and ran toward the falling amalgamation-woman with a fireball forming in his hand. Target in sight, he hurled a series of fire-blasts at the half-aerophibian, but she easily dodged the flames, firing twin beams from her eyes down at Alan in return.

Argit groaned as he rolled onto his back and sat upright to level a glare at Kevin. "Have I thanked you for restoring my memories, thus forcing me to leave my home without a word to my gorgeous girlfriend who, might I add, is still ticked at me for not telling her about the techadon soldiers I stole?" Argit asked Kevin in a snappish tone.

"Hey, you could've stayed behind and forgotten I ever came to you," Kevin responded in a sharp tone. "I didn't force you to come!"

Argit scoffed and shook his head. "Yeah, well, I'm trying to be a better guy, and you did help me when out when we were younger, so there!"

"Story of my life: people try to help me and I spit in their face," Kevin grumbled before grabbing the barn door and absorbing the wood. "Now I'm the one trying to help and getting a punch to the face for my troubles. But it's worth it; I'm not gonna let anyone down again, especially Alan." Kevin then looked up and shouted towards the boy, "I'm coming, Alan!"

But when Alan saw Kevin running toward him, he mistook Kevin's advance as an attack and blasted him, earning an irate response from Kevin.

"Hey! I'm made of wood," Kevin shouted. "What's your problem?!"

"My problem?!" Alan shouted back incredulously. "Only ALL of this!" Just as he finished yelling back at Kevin, Alan got thrown off his feet when Swift blasted the tree behind Alan.

"I'm trying to save you!" Kevin yelled back at Alan hotly.

"Riiiight. You, Argit," Alan clenched his fist before pointing up at Swift, "and your new Jetray girlfriend here? You make me sick! Didn't take you long to hook up with some skank after you broke Ben's and Gwen's heart!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Kevin responds quickly, like he was worried it would give Alan a bad impression of him. Unfortunately, the response just seems to incense Alan further.

"So, you can't even deny what you did to Ben and Gwen, or even explain it?!" Alan yelled in outrage. "BASTARD!" He then slammed the palms of his hand against Kevin, causing the older boy's shoulder to catch fire.

"Ahhhh!" Kevin yelped as he patted wildly at his shoulder.

"Hang on, buddy!" Argit cried as he quickly ran over to a water-pump with a bucket, frantically pumping out water into the bucket, before running to throw it over Kevin. All the while, Alan flew up into the air to fight the Rooter agent.

"Gah! Thanks, man," Kevin said with a sigh of relief.

"No prob. Why do you think he's so angry about you and Ben? I mean, even more than he should be since Ben is his friend," Argit asked Kevin.

"Might be shadows of memories from before the mind-wipe. Me and Alan were...close...before the memory alteration," Kevin reluctantly told Argit.

"Wait...close as in 'Ben and Jimmy' close," Argit narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "or 'Ben and Rook' close?"

"Well, the latter, I guess...," Kevin said uneasily.

"You guess?" Argit responded dubiously.

"I don't know, we were young then; too young to even fully understand what it meant. But, yeah, I guess he had a crush on me. And I liked him too." Kevin babbled. "Look can we focus on rescuing Alan for now?"

"Seems to me you've been focused on the flame-boy since we got here," Argit replied with a smug smirk, crossing his arms in triumph of figuring it out.

"I..That..Wha..." Kevin stammered, but was cut off when Alan crashed down on the ground after a hit from Swift.

Alan struggled to move after turning back to his human form, but could only look up helplessly at the Aerophibian-hybrid.

"You're coming with me, Alan Albright!" Swift hissed before she fired her eye beams.

Alan could see the lasers moving towards him in slow-motion; in less than a second, he was going to be a goner. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable, but when it never came he opened his eyes to see that Kevin had thrown himself into the path of the beams.

"NO! I WON'T LET ANYONE HURT HIM, ESPECIALLY YOU!" Kevin then cried out in equal parts determination and pain after a direct hit to the chest from Swift's beams.

"You...you really are here to help me," Alan realized, his mouth agape.

"Of course. I promised to not let anything happen to you, kid," Kevin said as he smiled sweetly at Alan.

"But...wait...when did you ever promise me that?" Alan asked. "And where's Ben if you're here to help?"

"Ben's got his own stuff to deal with...and I wouldn't be a welcome sight right now," Kevin answered before letting out a sharp yell of pain when Swift hit him in the back.

_**-BRoken-** _

It was around noon at the Mr. Smoothies. Ben and Rook were seated at a table, the latter watching in fascination, disbelief, and amusement at his Heart's Flame trying to suck up his smoothie through a straw.

"God, If I wanted to suck on something this long and not get any results I'd date Cash," Ben huffed.

"As if I would let you," Rook playfully growled at Ben, who giggled at the mock-jealous action. "But why not ask for another smoothie?" Rook continued. "Clearly this smoothie is not 'smooth' enough."

"Because I never give up!" Ben dramatically declared. "Did I give up when I was kidnapped by Khyber? No! Did I give up when Billy tried to force me to break off our engagement? No! Did I give up when Scout came onto me when we were stuck on Anur Transyl? No! Though, the idea of a threesome did cross me mind for, like, five seconds."

"Ben..." Rook said in a half-hearted warning tone.

"The point is," Ben carried on, "No smoothie is gonna get the better of Ben 10!" Ben then glared at his cup. "You hear that, Double-Guava Gumball Gulp? You're going DOWN!"

Rook burst into laughter as he said,"Now I understand those 'That's what he said' jokes." Rook's chuckles died down, though, when Ben finally got a gulp of smoothie into his mouth and turned with a smug smile and cocked eyebrow aimed at Rook. But the instant he swallowed, his eyes bulged in excruciating pain, and he threw his hands up to grab his head.

"BRAIN-FREEZE!" Ben cried and jumped up from the table, immediately followed by Rook who chased after Ben in concern.

"Beloved, if you would just sit down I could help you!" Rook shouted after Ben, who kept running.

But Ben's movement was halted when he crashed into a large body, causing him to fall back into Rook's ready arms.

"Agh!" Ben groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Running into that brick wall didn't help my head."

"Awww, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me, Benny," a male voice said around a chuckle.

Hearing said voice, Ben lowered his hand to see Cooper, Gwen, and Ester standing in front of him. Gwen reached out and let her glowing hand rest on his forehead, easing the brain-freeze away.

"Always have to cause a scene, don't you, Ben?" Gwen asked in amused exasperation.

"Sister Gwendolyn. Brother Cooper," Rook warmly greeted, letting go of Ben in favor of standing next to him. "And Princess Ester; to what do we owe this unexpected visit?" Rook asked, only to get a letter shoved into his face by the kraaho princess.

"WHAT. IS. THIS?!" Ester demanded, obviously deeply upset.

"Cooper and I were coming into town because Aunt Sandra said your counselor was doing a good job for you and Rook," Gwen said giving a sideways glance to Cooper.

"Apparently, somebody thinks that knowing that Kevin isn't really a bad guy on purpose, I'll ditch him for the ruffian."

"I've got every reason to be concerned," Cooper chimed in. "I didn't have a lot of dating experience before I beefed up. I'm shy, awkward, nervous about making a fool out of myself in front of your University friends, and I don't want you to regret being with me."

"Oh," Gwen huffed, turning with a sad expression toward Cooper. "Coop, I'm not gonna leave you! I stick to one guy; I don't care if Kevin was just mind-controlled, or something. I don't plan on leaving you; I saw how bad that effected Ben."

Cooper shuffled a little, pouting as Gwen put a hand on his chest in a comforting gesture.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't blame you...I mean, he was your first boyfriend," Cooper was silenced by a kiss from Gwen.

"And with any luck, you'll be my last," Gwen told him with a smile.

Cooper beamed in response before pulling Gwen into a tight hug.

"I love you, Gwen," Cooper breathed into Gwen's hair.

"Love you too, Coop," Gwen replied, wrapping her arms around his waist tightly.

"I take it they've been as unerved about Kevin as we were?" Ben said to Rook.

"Yes, it would seem so," Rook responds.

"And, hey, how come he gets to call you 'Gwen', Gwen?" Ben complained, earning a stern look from his cousin. "Er...Gwendolyn," Ben quickly corrected, bashful over how quickly he relented.

"Hey, you guys have pet names for each other," Cooper responded, keeping an arm around Gwen's shoulders.

"And as my boyfriend he get's the right to call me 'Gwen'." Gwen responded."Anyways, back to why we were here. We were on our way to Atris' office when we ran into Ester coming up from Undertown. We offered her a ride..."

"...And she showed us that letter." Cooper finished.

Once the five teenagers were settled at one of the tables, they started to answer some questions Gwen, Ester, and Cooper had for the duo regarding their last encounter with Kevin. Zed had been let out of the car and was currnetly laying next to Cooper.

"We have not seen Kevin Levin since our encounter with the Rooters," Rook stated, crossing his arms with a pensive frown. "And given that the Rooters will not likely stop looking for him, the chances of us ever seeing him again are practically null; something I am not above celebrating."

"Rook, I know it's not easy to accept," Gwen replied. "I was hurt by him as much as Ben was, but if he's in danger, legitimate danger, we can't just stand by and let him get hurt."

"Especially when he has my Sugar-Possum with him!" Ester cut in with a sad whine.

"Sugar-Possum?" Rook asked.

"I know, I know, we have our outs, but I do love him Rook...even if he makes me want to tear his quills out," Ester said with a frown, earning a friendly, comforting shoulder pat from Gwen.

"Yeah, I get'cha," Ben said with a smile. "But the problem still remains: if Kevin and Argit have gone completely off the grid, then they don't want to be found."

"Which makes Argit sending this letter to Ester that much stranger," Gwen said. "I mean, why let Argit send a letter to Ester, if they don't want to be found?"

Ben reached over to take the letter from Ester, and proceeded to read it.

"My dearest Ester..." Ben quickly stopped and slammed the letter onto the table. "Oh, cheese-balls! It's a love letter! I don't need to hear all the mooshy stuff about your relationship!" Ben turned and pointed a finger at Rook, who had been about to say something. "And yes, I know we can be 'mooshy' too, but I don't have people read our emails to each other, do I?"

"In case you've all forgotten," Gwen dryly remarks, taking the paper back from Ben, "Argit isn't one for 'mooshy' writing."

Ester then jumped in, saying, "And him 'thoughtfully' sending me a letter when he's gone off is just...totally not like him."

Gwen started to read the letter, "My dearest Ester..."

"Doesn't mean YOU have to read it!" Ben tried to stop Gwen with a mortified expression.

"Ben is right, it is Argit's personal love-filled letter to Ester," Rook added.

Gwen fixed them both with a deadpan stare and continued, "You have BEN the most wonderful girlfriend for so MANNY months. I can hardly remember my life before I met you. Your arrow did pierce my heart forever and nothing but your love could ever FILL THE VOID..."

"Seriously, stop!" Ben shouted, hugging himself tightly in discomfort. "I never expected this side of Argit, and frankly, I didn't want to!"

"Yeah, kinda drowning in sap over here, Babe," Cooper winced.

Rook however, looked thoughtful as he reached over to pick up the letter and examine it. "There are numerous grammatical and spelling errors," Rook noted, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he handed the letter back to Gwen.

"Yeah, I thought maybe it was a cipher, or something," Ester agreed.

"We've tried everything we could think of to decode it," Gwen said, indicating herself and Cooper. "Held it in front of a mirror. Held it up to a light."

"Scrambled and de-scrambled it," Cooper jumped in, waving his hands dramatically. "Spent hours online, running it through translators."

"Did you happen to if there was a magic de-coding spell?" Ben asked Cooper, who suddenly dropped his hands in shock as Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance and disbelief.

"Why didn't you ask me that?" Gwen asked Cooper, nudging him in reprimand. "You're supposed to be the one who reminds me of stuff like that."

"Hey, I remind you to sleep, relax, eat, put down your books, and pay attention to your 'incredibly awesome, but not perfect boyfriend'." Cooper jabbed back playfully, earning a exasperated eye roll. "Forgive me if I forget one little thing."

"Guys, the spell?!" Ester frantically asked.

Gwen bonked herself on the side of the head before chanting a series of words that echoed in the air and placing her hand on the paper. The words glowed bright pink and soon moved across the paper, like a swarm of insects before reforming into a totally different message.

"We've got Alan. You get Manny, Helen. Null Void," Gwen read aloud.

"That's it!" Cooper declared. "Kevin must've had Argit write this and slipped the message inside."

"As if we're not coming with you," Ben said turning to Rook. "Blonko, I know how you feel...but this is more than just about Kevin. This is about stopping Servantis and saving Alan, Manny, and Helen. Can I trust you to help me?"

Rook looked at Ben intensely for a moment before smiling crookedly at Ben. "I always follow you into crazy and excruciating circumstances, do I not, Beloved?" Rook asked. "I trust you, and I can give Kevin the benefit of the doubt for now."

"Then I guess we're going on a road-trip," Cooper declared lightheartedly.

_**-BRoken-** _

For every volley Agent Swift shot from her eyes, Kevin was able to block it with his arms. Amazingly, his wooden armor was holding up to the onslaught, but Kevin suspected that was only because Servantis had ordered Swift not to be lethal. Unfortunately that meant that Swift was keeping her distance and attacking from afar, which left Kevin on the defensive.

Kevin  _loathed_  being on the defensive.

"Hey, Swift," Kevin taunted with a dark smirk, "when was the last time you got laid? Seriously, you're so up-tight! Oh, wait, Servantis is still an aphenphosmphobe, right? Shame. I remember in the days before you all got amalgamated that you and Leander were secret fuck-buddies; the walls were  _really_  thin. But then him getting stuck in that isolation suit caused you to call it quits. Maybe someday you'll find someone to love that dusty 'ole twat of yours!"

"Why you insolent sonuva- RAAAARGH!" And with that battle cry, Swift rushed Kevin, only to falter when argit's quills hit her.

"Somebodies cranky," Argit mocked in a sing-song tone, "looks like it's nap time!" He then shot another volley at Swift who quickly retreated into the Null Void.

Seeing that the cost was clear, Argit stepped out from the tall grass and followed Kevin up to Alan. Said boy was staring at them with less suspicion and said, "Alright, I'm listening. What's this all about?"

"I promise this will all make sense to you in a minute," Kevin said with a kind smile before turning slightly bashful as he added, "Also...I've been wanting to do this for a while, so sorry in advance."

"Do wha-mmmph!" Alan started, then yelped in surprise as Kevin grabbed him by the shoulders and planted a heated kiss on the boy's lips, causing bright red sparks to literally fly around them.

…

_Alan was 10 years old when a strange looking man brought him to this place he called the 'Null Void'. It was unlike anything he'd seen on Earth. Actually, he was convinced that they weren't even_ on _Earth anymore! Servantis had brought him to a giant citadel, floating amid chunks of rock and blotchy red and black sky._

_"And this, Alan, will be your living quarters," Servantis had said as he had lead the boy into a common room complete with a fully-stocked kitchen, a television , and a few well-stocked bookshelves. There had been four other kids in this room, only one of which that had looked in any way normal. Suddenly, all eyes had been on him...except those belonging to the boy with spikes coming out of his face; he had merely glanced at him before returning to his book._

_"Sup?" the raven-haired 'normal' looking boy had said._

_"Who are you guys?" Alan had asked, feeling a little off-balance._

_"They're your room-mates," Servantis had answered. "Orphans, run-aways, outcasts...like you." And with that, Servantis had walked off, leaving them all to get to know each other, but not before adding, "Kevin? Please make young Alan feel right at home." After that, he'd left them to be._

_"So, what is this place?" Alan had asked._

_The normal boy, Kevin, had chuckled and said, "Yeah, the Proctor isn't big on info, yeah? Ever been to summer camp?"_

_Alan had shaken his head in the negative in response, before turning to a tall, red, four-armed boy who had said, "Well, you have now...sorta. Manny"_

_"Alan," Alan had replied, introducing himself to the others._

_"I'm Helen," a blue skinned girl had said after running up to him at an impossible speed, "that's my brother Pierce. And you know what else? Your 'It'!" She had then poked him in the chest and giggled before running off._

_"Don't bother," Manny had said with a resigned, almost bored tone, "you won't catch her."_

_Alan had silently agreed as he watched Helen zoom from one corner of the room to the other._

_Suddenly, Alan had felt very small and very scared. This was all just too much and he had begun to regret running away from that stupid orphanage. At least things there had made sense! This had all been just a bunch of nonsense with weird looking kids and a weird looking world that was_ nothing _like Earth!_

_Alan had quickly looked down to hide the fact he was beginning to cry; he couldn't let these kids think he was a baby. But somehow, fate had chosen to be kind to him, as Kevin had walked over to him and had wrapped him up in a hug._

_"Hey, easy, Alan," Kevin had said soothingly, "I know this is all a lot to take in, but it's gonna be okay. Trust me."_

_Alan had then looked up at Kevin; his eyes filled with vulnerable trust._

_"Just stick by me and I'll make sure NOTHING bad ever happens to you, kid," Kevin had said with a kinda smile. "Promise."_

…

"I...I don't remember  _any_  of that!" Alan exclaimed, his face flushed from the sensation of Kevin kissing him. Turning his eyes to Kevin, a hint of that old vulnerability in them. "You'd said...you'd stick by me and protect me."

"Yeah, and I did," Kevin answered before his face darkened. "Up until Servantis caught wind of how I was favoring you. I think that's when this whole memory-wipe thing began."

"You think?" Alan asked, still not sure whether or not to believe any of this...especially whether or not his heart beat that much quicker at the thought of his kiss with Kevin.

Kevin shrugged. "The psychic energy I absorbed from Servantis is still working it's way through me. It's only been a few weeks and memories I  _shouldn't_  have are still unlocking and rearranging themselves. From what I can tell, Servantis never did like or understand the concept of love or affection. I tried to make it subtle that I was protecting you from the worst of Servantis' 'Basic Training', but eventually he figured it out and wasn't too happy. That's when things get fuzzy."

"It's a lot to take in, huh?" Argit asked, feeling just a bit of sympathy for Alan.

"You can say that again," Alan mumbled, unable now to look at Kevin without blushing.

Kevin wasn't much better. In an almost bashful tone Kevin said, "Yeah, well, as much I'd love for you and me to get re-acquainted...uh, not that I mean love as  _love_  love, but...uh, a strong desire...no, that's worse..."

Alan giggled, having never before seen the strong and self-assured Kevin Levin so awkward and  _unsure_. "I think I get the picture. We should probably go before the Rooters come back, yeah?" Alan then ran off to lock up the house.

Argit snorted in amusement and said, "Smooth."

"Shut up!" Kevin barked.

_**-BRoken-** _

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Gwen asked Rook in a frustrated tone.

"I understand your concern, Sister Gwen, but Manny and Helen are trained plumbers," Rook replied to reassure his future cousin-in-law. Rook was flying the Proto-TRUK as Gwen, Cooper, and Ester were standing in the cockpit.

"Yeah, and Manny is engaged to 'Princess Looma'," Ben added to emphasize Rook's point. "You think she's gonna let ANYONE hurt her fiance?"

At this, everyone chuckled knowingly before paling as the idea of what might befall any who would dare lay a malicious hand on Manny. Looma was, after all, her father's daughter, and War Lord Gar was a force to be reckoned with.

"Spirits have mercy on their souls," Rook solemnly prayed in a playful manner.

_**-BRoken-** _

On Khoros, Manny and Helen were pushing a gurney with an unconscious criminal on it. The criminal happened to be the tetramand Gorvan, who thought he'd get a free pass on Khoros for his crimes. Sadly for him, that was not the case.

"For once I'd like to be up against some heavy hitters," Manny complained as he struggled to move the overweight tetramand on the gurney. "Not heavy eaters."

"You sure you can still do this with your cushy new life now?" Helen teased. "I hear Princess Looma promised you'd never have to lift another hand to work."

"Hey! I am NOT some 'gigolo' who lives with a girl for money," Manny replied defensively. "I told Looma, I'll work for the Red-Wind Tribe, but I'll still be a Plumber first and foremost."

"Afraid you'd need a job to support yourself," Helen playfully whipped Manny's butt with her tail, "when your butt's no longer firm enough to fall back on?"

"Better not let Looma hear you speak like that," Manny chuckled. "She gets mighty jealous...not that I don't like it when she 'stakes her claim'."

"I'm sure." Helen replied in a dry tone. "She got you that fancy new hand as an engagement gift after all."

"Still, I'd like to have a real challenge, since nobody around here likes to spar with the Princess's groom," Manny complained.

Without warning, a Null Void portal opened behind them, allowing Phil and Leander entrance onto Khoros' surface. Manny and Helen immediately ran for cover as Leander opened fire with radioactive energy blasts.

"Now this is more like it!" Manny hollered in excitement as each of his hands pulled out a pistol and returned fire.

Having come to at that point, Gorvan quickly made a run for it after taking in the fight.

Helen ran out from her cover and began to run circles around Phil, who had transformed into his monster form. As she ran, she fired at him continuously, but soon got caught in his claws and thrown into one of the landing struts of their ship. Manny ran over and grabbed Helen with his lower two arms while firing at the attackers with the other as he slid across the ground to avoid him and Helen being crushed under the weight of the ship.

Seeing that there targets were trying to run, Leander and Phil gave chase, but were stopped dead in their tracks by two missiles striking the ground at their feet; the explosion tossing them back as the Proto-TRUK moved between the the two Rooters and the two Plumbers. The boarding ramp lowered, revealing Ben, Gwen, and Ester.

"Manny! Helen!" Ben and Gwen shouted as Ester lassoed the two with her rubbery arms.

"Ben, Gwen!" Manny and Helen exclaimed as they were tugged into the Proto-TRUK.

"Rook! Cooper!" Manny exclaimed, pleased to see the revonnahgander and the blonde human.

"Manny," Rook greeted amiably from the steering wheel before pulling back on it and hitting the accelerator, thus blasting them off into space.

"Good to see you two again," Cooper added.

"And friend?" Helen asked in confusion.

"Ester of the Kraaho," Ester greeted.

Zed let out a bark, as if to indicate who she was to the amalgam kids.

_**-BRoken-** _

At Kevin's work garage, he, Argit, and Alan were looking through various scattered boxes.

"Where is it; it's gotta be here," Kevin fretted as he looked through the boxes.

"Is what your looking for...what I THINK your looking for?" Alan asked uneasily, as he had moved two boxes aside to reveal a familiar machine.

"Depends, what have you found?" Kevin asked as he and Argit walked over. Argit's eyes bulged in alarm as he realized what Alan had found.

"Is THAT what I think it is?" Argit exclaimed shocked. "Buddy, you're crazy if you think I'm going back to the Null Void. Seriously, not even for you. I have a girlfriend to think of!"

"Don't worry your prickly little head...I'm going alone," Kevin replied.

"Are you nuts? Do you know what the Rooters will do to you if you go back there?" Argit exclaimed.

"There's NO WAY your going without me," Alan said determinedly. "I owe you one."

"Are you nuts?" Kevin stated in surprise. "I just got blasted into splinters to keep you away from those guys!"

"But I gotta go back; I need answers..." Alan then blushed darkly, averting his eyes for a second before looking up at Kevin shyly. "Besides, I'll have you to look after me...like you promised. And I know now that you never did anything to hurt me on purpose."

Kevin smiled at Alan's shy behavior, but seemed to go pale at hearing Alan's last words of Kevin not doing 'anything' to Alan.

"Uhhh...Maybe you didn't zap him enough?" Argit looked just as alarmed by Alan's ignorance of what happened.

"Alan...do you remember how you got your powers?" Kevin asked the younger male in a worried tone.

"I...I was born with them, that's why the Rooters wanted me. Right?" Alan answered confused.

"Well, you're in luck, Kevin," Argit teased half-heartedly given the serious nature of this development. "You get to kiss him again."

Kevin threw a glare at Argit, "I don't need to kiss him!"

"So, you don't want to?" Alan asked softly.

Kevin couldn't believe how flustered he was feeling. It was like all of the feelings he should've felt for Alan had been bottled up for so many years, and now seeing Alan possibly returning his feelings had caused that bottle to explode like a volcano, leaving him feeling like an overly emotional teenager hit by cupids arrow for the very first time.

"Look, I...this isn't easy, Alan," Kevin started as he rubbed his face with his hands in frustration. "I like you...a lot. I wonder about what could've been...but you might change your mind after I make it ALL clear."

Alan opened his mouth to question Kevin, but the raven-haired mutant cupped Alan's face gently before leaning in for a tender kiss. Just the gentle pressing of his lips to Alan's sent red-sparks from Kevin to Alan. The Pyronite hybrid's eyes widened as the memories came back.

…

_"There's nothing to fear, young man. We've perfected the operation," Servantis had said to Alan in a reassuring manner, which had been anything but 'reassuring'._

_Alan had been strapped to a gurney with a band wrapped around his forehead, with a strange cable attached to it._

_"Yeah, no worries. It's worked on all the other kids," Kevin had said to Alan, who had looked to the side. There had been two other gurneys to his right: Kevin had been on the one right next to him, and a pyronite had been on the last. The glazed expression upon the pyronite's face had seemed to indicate sedation._

_Kevin had given Alan a warm smile to assuage his fears, but it had quickly dropped when Servantis spoke again._

_"That's right, and Mr. Levin here is the key to it all," Servantis had said with a creepy smile. "Do you know what 'DNA.' is, Alan?"_

_"The building blocks of life?" Alan had replied._

_"That is correct," Servantis had said. "Now, Kevin has a very special, one of a kind mutation in his DNA. that allows us to live-graft your DNA. with that of our other friend over there." Servantis had gestured toward the Pyronite at this. "And when we are finished, you'll have great powers." Servantis had walked over to the console as he'd spoken and had typed in a series of commands into it. "This isn't going to hurt a bit," Servantis had said as the lights went dark._

_Alan had let a small whimper escape from his lips; he had still been scared. But Kevin had reached out and taken Alan's hand in his own. Kevin had then smiled comfortingly at Alan, who had felt the fear go away. It had been at that point that some kind of matter had moved through the tube attached to the pyronite's headband to Kevin's headband before finally going to Alan's headband. Alan's heart had jumped at first but had quickly settled as he'd realized it wasn't hurting at all._

_"Hey, it kinda tickles," Alan had said around a fit of giggles, but had stopped as Servantis strolled over to Kevin._

_"Thanks to you," Servantis had said, addressing Kevin, "the universe will be saved from 'The Coming Storm'."_

_"Well, the way I see it, The Coming Storm has it coming," Kevin had replied to Servantis with a hint of hatred in his voice._

_Alan had shivered in fear at Kevin's tone of voice but had kept silent. Alan had kept his eyes trained straight ahead as Servantis moved over to him, opening his skull to zap Alan with a bolt of red energy, which had caused Alan to yelp in pain._

_"Sorry, Bud," Kevin had said to Alan, who shook badly after the shock, but had eventually settled down._

_"How do you feel, son?" Servantis had asked Alan._

_"Exactly the same," Alan had moaned, disappointed that such an unpleasant sensation had failed to yield a reward. "It didn't work." But of course, no sooner had the words left his lips than Alan's entire body had become engulfed in flames, thus turning into a smaller version of the Pyronite. Servantis had jumped back, surprised at the fury of the transformation._

_"Was I right, or was I right?" Kevin had said, grinning at Alan, who had held up his hand in amazement._

_"Coolest. Thing. Ever!" Alan had replied before laughing in a rush of euphoria._

_Kevin had merely grinned._

…

Alan's eyes shot open and stared at Kevin, who was staring back at him intently. Their lips were no longer touching, but Kevin still stood quite close to the younger boy.

Recognizing the feelings bubbling inside of him, Alan quickly jumped back as he lost control and snapped into his pyronite form. To the surprise of both Kevin and Argit, the boy roared in rage, causing fire to shoot up from his mouth like a fountain. "The Rooters used us!" Alan cried out in fury.

"And I did too," Kevin said morosely. "I had...my own reason for joining them, and I knew with you guys...I could get my revenge."

Shocked at Kevin's statement, Alan returned to his human form and said, "But...no, that can't be true. They replaced our memories, our lives, with fake ones. That wasn't your fault."

Kevin shook his head in the negative. "If I hadn't been so angry, and obsessed with...getting pay back, then we wouldn't have had our memories altered, and all of you would have lived normal lives."

"But I wouldn't have met you," Alan replied, with a small smile. "I remember every bit; you were the one good thing about that place, despite your feelings towards 'The Coming Storm'. Besides, when it was all over, my parents...er, foster parents...treated me well. So, it's not like I wound up in a crappy place."

"Alan..." Kevin whispered.

"Look, I get it," Alan spoke up passionately. "You're feeling guilty; you did some bad things and for your own bad reasons, but the Rooters took advantage of that put you on a path that paralleled their own. They never tried to get you to see the error of your ways. And you've never ONCE done anything to harm me."

"Well..." Argit started to speak up.

"When you were of sound mind!" Alan snapped at the porcu-possum. "And...I know how I feel, and...I want to help. And I want to...get to know you. For real, this time."

"You can't mean that," Kevin responded in shock. "I'm bad news, and I'm not gonna put you into harms way again."

"You can't make that decision for me, Kevin!" Alan reached out and grabbed Kevin's shoulders, shaking him slightly. "The Rooters did that to us. They made the decisions for us. But not this time; I'm not going to lose you or the possibility of an 'us' because of them."

Kevin was dangerously close to tears at that point. In an effort to at least keep alan from seeing them, he pulled the boy into a tight, warm hug.

"Then stay here...stay safe," Kevin whispered into Alan's ear, "and maybe, if I make it back, we can decide if we want to have an 'us'."

Alan opened his mouth to argue when a sharp prick on his shoulder caught him off guard; it was one of Argit's quills. Alan immediately fell to his knees as the effects of Argit's quill hit him.

Argit rushed to Alan's side as Kevin ran to the machine, activated it, and ran through the portal.

"KEVIN!" Alan yelled, reaching out to the portal, but it was too late. The portal had already closed.

Alan felt his heart clench tightly, and grabbed his face, feeling a wave of nausea and despair flood over him. He felt like he was gonna choke on his grief.

Argit was completely at a loss as to how to handle this. He wasn't all that into being emotional and supporting others when they were falling apart. All he knew how to do was make wise-cracks, run the other way, and generally avoid heavy moments like this. "Hey, uh, you wanna split a pizza?" he asked Alan who was now coming out of the effects of the quill. "I think Kevin left some in the fridge."

The disembodied response of, "I'll take a slice," had both Argit and Alan spinning around in surprise, the former cowering slightly as he took in the displeased looks on the faces of Ben, Rook, Gwen, Cooper, Ester, Manny, and Helen...but mostly Ester.

"You are in such deep shit," Ester said, her frown turning into a terrifying smirk.

"H-Hey, Ester," Argit replied shakily, very afraid for his life. "In my defense, this totally wasn't my idea! But, in for a penny, in for a pound, right? So I insisted on going along with him, but he had his mind set on going it alone."

"He blames himself for letting the Rooters live-graft our DNA with aliens," Alan said, still shaken from Kevin's departure and feeling a little vulnerable.

"I'm still not buying it," Manny insisted.

"Don't you understand?!" Alan cried, tears starting to fall from his face. "You, me, Helen...Pierce..."

"Th-That one was my DNA," Argit interjected.

"...We're all just experiments created by the Rooters to keep something called 'The Coming Storm' from destroying the universe!" Alan continued. "And Kevin blames himself because he went along with the whole thing! But I  _know_  that's not true...or at least, not the whole truth."

Ben could easily see the distress in the boy before them. He was scared and uncertain, but there was something more. "Alan, what happened?" Ben asked.

Alan looked to Ben with tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "Kevin unlocked my memories...he and I, we were close...but Servantis, he wouldn't allow it...and now I remember, and I...I  _love_  him!"

The silence in the garage was deafening.

"I do not understand," Rook said after a beat, "if you and Kevin had at one time been each others compress-"

"Crush," Ben corrected automatically.

"-then why would he have sought out a relationship with either my Beloved or Sister Gwen?" Rook finished.

"Servantis," Alan answered. "That's why Kevin's gone to the Null Void: to confront him."

"Kevin is alone in the Null Void with the Rooters?!" Gwen exclaimed. "We have to back him up!"

Ben nodded his head in agreement before walking over to the Null Void projector and activating it. Turning to Alan, Ben smiled and said, "Once this is over, I'm calling dibs on being your Best Man."

Alan chuckled wetly before pulling Ben into a hug.

Argit groaned and rolled his eyes. "Fine, if we're gonna charge right into danger like cowboys, we're gonna need big guns." He then pulled two cubes out of his pocket, tossed them in his mouth, swished them around a bit and then spat them out on the ground.

"Uh, what was that for?" Cooper asked.

His question was answered when the two cubes morphed into two full-size techadon soldiers.

"Oi! You two! Stay close to me and attack whoever or whatever I tell you to without reserve!"

"Affirmative," both robots replied in monotone simultaneously.

When Argit turned to look at the others he met looks of surprise and shock. "What?" he asked. "It's obvious I'm not getting out of this foolish endeavor, so I might as well arm myself."

"My hero," Ester said with a smirk, planting a kiss on Argit's cheek.

"That's right, Babe, I am a hero! Now let's march to our death; hopefully mine will be much later than yours!"

And with that, like an army headed for war, they marched into the Null Void.

_**-BRoken-** _

Sneaking through the corridors of the Rooters base had been a little too easy. Granted, it was a massive station on the same scale as the Plumbers base, and currently occupied by only five people, so the chances of bumping into Swift, Phil, Leander, or Servantis were minimal. But to not even have any cybernetic security patrolling the corridors? Sloppy. Or, a trap: one Kevin was eager to spring so long as he got the answers he needed.

Forcing the doors of the turbolift open, Kevin strode out onto the command deck of the Rooters base and looked up to the ops ring where Servantis stood.

"Welcome home, Kevin Levin," Servantis said.

Kevin grinned darkly and replied, "Kinda figured it was too easy breaking in here. Where are your lap dogs?"

Servantis turned to face Kevin and pointed behind the 'osmosian' as he said, "Where they can keep an eye on you."

Kevin turned to look at the opposite side of the ops ring to see the other three Rooters standing at the ready.

"I was hoping, " Servantis said, as he walked down the lower, central area, "that you were going to bring the new recruits with you all 'guns a blazing'."

"Sorry to disappoint ya," Kevin replied cheekily.

"I am disappointed," Servantis admitted. "We are going to need all your help in our our fight against the Coming Storm."

Kevin frowned as rage coursed through his body. A lifetime of bad choices and even worse repercussions reminding him of where it had all started. Right there, with that man using him against...

"Stop calling him that! His name is Ben Tennyson!" Kevin barked. "And he's my friend."

Servantis smirked cruelly and said, "Come now, Kevin. Ben Tennyson, Coming Storm, Destroyer of the Universe? What difference does a name  _really_  make? This is what you always wanted. His destruction is what you and I created the children for."

"Yeah? Well Ben's not here, and you and I aren't partners anymore," Kevin replied, narrowing his eyes. "I'm not leaving here until we settle accounts."

Anything more from Servantis was halted by Swift's shout of, "INCOMING!"

And just like that, Atomix crashed through one of the windows and landed right next to Kevin before turning back into Ben himself. "Surprise," Ben said before slapping Kevin's forearm and saying, "How pig-headed and chauvinistic could you be to just run off on your own and leave Alan, your crush since age 11, your possible soul-mate, all by his lonesome with nothing but his fears and insecurities to keep him company? Seriously, for someone trying to turn over a new leave, your not doing it very well."

Kevin grit his teeth in frustration. "Ben, you bone-head!" he barked. "This wasn't some chauvinistic gesture! This was me trying to protect Alan, and you, and the others! I have this handled!"

Ben frowned in return and said, "Well too bad. Cause I'm bringing the cavalry!"

On cue, within a floating sphere of mana, came Gwen, Rook, Ester, Cooper, Zed, Alan, Manny, Helen, Argit, and two techadon soldiers.

Whipping around to face the group, Kevin barked, "After all I did to keep all of you away from the Rooters, you just bring come here?! Didn't you get Argit's note?!"

"Yeah, we did," Ester answered before grinning darkly and glaring at her boyfriend. "And trust me when I say Argit's going to get his for his part in all of this."

"Hey, for all intents and purposes, I was coerced!" Argit said in defense of his actions.

Kevin then looked to Alan and said, "And you...can't you see that I'm trying to protect you?"

Alan smiled grimly and replied, "That's real sweet, but I can protect myself just fine."

"You see, it's time the protector allowed himself to be protected," Ben teased. "Alan told me everything. Look at you being so sweet."

"Ben...," Kevin growled in warning.

"At any rate, we are providing you with backup," Rook said. "You ought to be thanking us."

"Thank you," Servantis said mockingly, causing everyone to remember where they were and who was here with them. This mistake cost them as the Rooters leader zapped Kevin with psychic energy, causing him to drop his metal exterior, before branching off to Alan, Helen, and Manny.

"Wh-What did you do to us?" Manny asked when it was over.

"It's like a million bells just  _stopped_  ringing," Helen commented.

"I reconnected your psychic link to your team leader," Servantis explained. "Kevin, you and I need to speak." Servantis then used his psychic energy to lift both him and a reluctant Kevin up into the air before surrounding them in a sphere of energy to protect them as they talked. "Children, keep them busy."

"Our pleasure," Alan responded before turning into his pyronite form just as Manny and Helen aimed their blasters at Ben.

Ben and the others turned and stared in alarm. Zed growled darkly in defense of her master and his friends and Ester wrapped an arm around Argit in fear.

"Oh, your bad now?" Ben said in disbelief. "This is just great, I try to rescue my ex-boyfriend...er...lover...partner...whatever..."

Gwen and Rook stared at Ben oddly, as he fumbled trying to think of an appropriate term to label Kevin.

"...and this is what I get? Turn-table shenanigans?" Ben shouted upset.

"Gwen, Argit, Ester, Cooper, and Rook, you're free to go," Helen told the others in a monotone.

"Our battle is with Ben," Manny added darkly.

"Since when?!" Gwen spat out in anger.

"Since forever, I guess," Alan answered, sounding a little confused himself. "Hard to say. I guess my reason would be Ben being the object of Kevin's affections, misguided and redirected as they were."

"Oh come on, Alan! We both know that's a weak and lame excuse! You should be blaming Servantis for that!" Cooper snapped in outrage, his gauntlets forming over his arms, along with a helmet, see-through mask, and shoulder-guards.

"Right," Argit said with both fear and finality in his voice. Pointing to the three former Plumbers Helpers Argit said, "Boys, take 'em down!"

"Argit! We can't kill them!" Ester shrieked.

Argit grumbled and added, "Take 'em down  _without_  killing them; just make them unconscious. Go!"

With that command, the two techadon soldiers engaged the three amalgams.

"It would appear that Ester is being a good influence on you," Rook commented, a snarl on his face. "Be grateful for that, else I would've torn you limb from limb had you abandoned my Beloved!" Rook then unleashed a furious roar as his fangs and claws grew before he entered the fray.

Cooper's eyes went wide before he glanced at Ben with an uncomfortable grin. "Sheesh, your farm boy sure can be a bit of a lion, huh?"

Ben returned the grin and replied, "You haven't seen anything yet." Ben then activated the Omnitrix and turned into Feedback before rushing in himself.

"Come on, Cooper!" Gwen called, as she flew after Helen.

Cooper sighed and said to himself, "If you can't beat them, join them." Locking eyes with Manny, Cooper called forth to him parts from around the station to surround him in a suit of tech-armor before targeting the tetramand amalgam and firing all his weapons.

It wasn't long until the battle was joined by Phil in his terror form. Luckily, Gwen had managed to pull everyone together and surround them in a mana shield before Phil could harm any of them. The impact of his attack shattered the shield. And now they were now sitting ducks with Helen running and flying around them.

"Ben," Gwen said to her cousin, "Rook, Cooper, Ester, Argit and I will take care of the Plumbers Helpers. You handle the Rooters themselves," Gwen finished.

"I was hoping you'd say that," Feedback replied.

"And do be careful, my Emerald," Rook panted, as he strained to reign in his feral beast instincts. "This situation is taxing on my state of mind."

"You know it, Blonko," Feedback said, giving a teasing zap to Rook's bum as he did. Rook was startled just enough to come out of his feral rage just enough to give Ben a playful glare.

"Ah. To know me is to love me," Feedback teased as he backed away so that the others had clear lines of sight with the Rooters and the Plumbers Helpers.

Zed barked as she shot toward Helen, but jumped to avoid blasts from Alan who immediately had to dodge blasts from Cooper.

"Hey! LEAVE MY DOG ALONE!" Cooper shouted. Gwen drew up another shield, smaller than the last, to block the return fire from Alan. Once the volley ended, she and Cooper returned fire together at the pyronite amalgam.

Argit and Ester stood back behind their two techadon soldiers, allowing the machines to provide the fire power. Argit continuously fed them orders to adjust their attack either to press an advantage or to keep any of the amalgams from advancing on them.

As the fighting waged around him, Feedback tore open a panel on the floor, enabling him to stick his antennae into the circuits to charge up before firing lightning blasts from his hands at Swift, Leander and Phil.

Manny ran at Rook, firing at the revonnahgander, who quickly blocked the blasts with his Proto-Tool before he knocked the guns out of Manny's hands.

"You'd do anything to nail that tail, wouldn't you Rook?" Manny taunted the revonnahgander. "I don't blame ya, but way I saw it during the trial, he's not a virgin anymore, so you sure you want to go where so many have gone before?"

"HOW DARE YOU!" Rook howled. "Mind control or not, you are gonna pay for that slur against my Heart's Flame's purity!"

Rook threw aside his proto-tool and bared his fangs slaws sprout. What made Rook all the more imposing was how each muscle in his body seemed to bulge and grow ever so slightly under the power of his ferality.

"BRING IT!" Manny shouted in excitement for the brawl.

Rook got in a couple of lucky punches, cracking Manny's armor, but the amalgam brushed them off and managed to kick Rook a few times as well.

"Come on, I get harder hits from my girl's love taps," Manny taunted.

"Then, I guess that makes you a masochist with a fiance who's stronger and more domineering than you!" Rook taunted back, causing Manny let out a yell of anger at the insult to Looma.

The amalgam roared in fury as he lunged at Rook, only to get an uppercut under his chin. As Rook made to jab Manny in the side, the amalgam grabbed his fist. Rook grunted as he tried to punch Manny with his other fist, which was then grabbed, and then he tried to kick at Manny only to find both his legs already in Manny's clutch.

"Give up? Trust me, Ben's not worth it. He's a danger to everyone in the universe," Manny said to Rook. Manny then yelped in pain when Rook angrily spat upon him. But instead of saliva, a milky substance...venom...was ejected from the revonnahgander's mouth. The acidity of the venom caused Manny's helmet to melt and warp, and the amalgam was forced to tear it off his head before it ate away at the skin of his face. As it was, a few drops had managed to his his nose, the corner of his mouth, and his chin.

"I beg to differ," Rook growled, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before drop-kicking Manny unconscious. "If anything, he's the only good thing keeping this crazy universe in check," Rook rolled his neck causing it to crack.

As the battle waged below, Kevin watched in horror and rage. "Call them off, Servantis!" Kevin shouted, banging on the psychic bubble.

"For what purpose?" Servantis asked angrily. "The creation of the amalgams and their current service to us; it is all because of HIM!" Servantis pointed, practically jabbed, his finger at Feedback, who had Phil in his grip and was draining energy from the Rooter's body.

Kevin reached into his pouch, pulled out a shard of tadenite he had previously acquired from Cooper's car, and formed a tadenite gauntlet around his fist. Lunging at Servantis, Kevin made to punch the man as he cried out, "He's my best friend! And I was his first!"

But the Proctor easily evaded the punch before blasting Kevin with psychic energy, forcing Kevin to his knees and releasing the tadenite from his hand. "A complication; a gratuitous error," Servantis hissed in displeasure. "Your memories were altered to get you closer to the target, but you were not supposed to get  _that_  close!"

"I wouldn't have done that to him if you hadn't fucked with my head!" Kevin snapped. "Nor would I have been with Gwen!"

"You were  _never_  supposed to be with  _either_  of them! The anodite half-breed was simply the lesser of two evils!" Servantis shouted. "When I realized how disgustingly close you were getting to the target, I altered your memories so that you would feel attracted to his cousin instead."

"Yeah, that worked out well, didn't it?" Kevin snidely responded. "I still wound up using Ben like he was nothing important and doing it behind his cousin's back. I may not have had serious feelings for Ben, with or without your mind tricks. I would've most likely dated him for a while and then broke up kindly. But I  _never_  would've treated him so coldly! You never could comprehend matters of the heart, being a wretched genophobic yourself!"

"BE SILENT!" Servantis cried as he zapped Kevin again. "I've always relied on you because of your abilities, but you're proving to be too much of a wild card; this was  _never_  supposed to get so messy."

"I can't do anything to him!" Kevin defiantly responded. "After what I did to him, did you really think I was gonna hurt him? You're the idiot who thought a mental suggestion was enough, it's not my fault my mind misinterpreted it."

"There was  _no_  misinterpretation," Servantis growled. "And this child is  _far_  too dangerous to let live."

"He's saved the universe a dozen times!" Kevin retorted.

"And he destroyed it! Even abusing his powers to de-age himself so he'd be 'clean' and 'pure' for his revonnahgander lover," Servantis said in a tone dripping with contempt.

"Something he'd never have to do if you hadn't meddled in our lives," Kevin growled. "He's in therapy because of me, and you too!"

"Precisely why he's a threat! And why  _you_  should've accomplished your mission and neutralized him in the first place all those years! But even then, you were defiant, and attracted to Alan."

Kevin's eyes widened in alarm.

"Yes, I know  _all_  about you two," Servantis said with an evil grin, before dropping into a frown. "It was precisely for that reason that I chose you to befriend Ben Tennyson. It was all too clear how close the two of you were, and what your feelings for each other would eventually evolve to. I could not affect your emotions, but I could affect your memories. But even that wasn't enough. With the arrival of the DNAliens I found the perfect excuse to separate you two for a prolonged period. And with all that passion now directed at Ben Tennyson, thanks to my modifications to your memory, the chances of you and Alan ever forming any sort of relationship aside from team-mates was minimal."

"You bastard!" Kevin screamed, making to lunge at Servantis but was forced to his knees again by the Proctor's psychic blast. "You made me fall in love with Ben because you wouldn't allow me to fall in love with Alan, and then you made me fall in love with Gwen because I wasn't supposed to fall in love with Ben," Kevin said in a defeated tone. "And I hurt all three as a result." Looking up at Servantis with absolute rage Kevin hissed, "I hurt them because of you. So if you think you can just turn me into one of you, you've got another think coming."

"Turn you?" Servantis' smile gave Kevin the chills. "Why, Kevin, you already ARE one of us."

"What? ...Why?" Kevin turned to look at the battle below with a morose frown. "After everything you've done... Besides, he's no 'Coming Storm', he's just a kid!" Kevin watched as Ben managed to blast Swift and Leander out of the sky while Cooper knocked out Alan, who stood over Gwen with fireballs ready. Rook sucker-punched Phil unconscious, causing Phil to revert to his human form.

"Precisely!" Servantis hissed. "A device with extraordinary powers as the Omnitrix was never meant to be wielded by an unpredictable and immature child!"

Servantis rant ended just as Ben transformed into Alien-X and levitated the Helpers, along with the Rooters, away from his friends and family and slammed them against the wall. Kevin's face scrunched up in pain seeing Alan getting roughed up like that. Leander tried blasting at Alien-X, but the celestialsapien held up his hand to deflect the blast. The laser split into several beams, forcing Rook, Gwen, Cooper, and Zed duck behind Argit's two techadon soldiers and into the hole in the floor that Argit and Ester had earlier ripped open to avoid getting caught in the cross-fire.

"Babe, look out!" Argit yelped, pushing Ester to the side as Rook, Gwen, Cooper and Zed slammed into him, pinning him to the ground.

The techadons, sensing their boss was in danger, aimed their blasters at them to fire.

"Oi! Don't shoot, they're on top of me! And it's cool, they're cool!" Argit shouted at the robots, causing them to stand down.

"You guys, alright?" Ester asked worried.

"What the heck is Benny doing?! It sounds like a war-zone up there," Argit asked worried.

"Ben has control of Alien-X," Rook said matter of factly. He seemed so calm about it, his fangs and claws gone.

Argit and Ester eyed each other in shock at hearing Ben having control of his most powerful, most dangerous, form.

Topside, Alien-X motioned at the others, causing them to float over and stand in rows on either side in front of the celestialsapian.

"He was NEVER supposed to receive the Omnitrix," Servantis carried on again. "He was NEVER supposed to wield such powers! You KNEW this instinctively."

And with another gesture from Alien-X, the Rooters and Helpers began to attack each other, knocking them all out, until only Alan was left standing.

Kevin watched this with an anguished expression as Servantis kept on ranting into his ear.

"Who was it that drove you mad? Who was it that sent you to the Null Void when your were only a child?"

Alien-X then levitated everyone up again around him and he beckoned to Alan with a finger, causing the pyronite amalgam to be drawn toward him.

"You know what you must do, Agent Levin: save the universe from Ben Tennyson!" Servantis kept piling it on Kevin, who's expression was wracked with emotion. "Be the hero you were always meant to be!"

And when Kevin saw that Alien-X was pulling back his arm to punch Alan, it seemed to be the proverbial feather that broke the camel's back. He was allowed to drop out of the bubble and land in between Alan and Alien-X.

"STOP!" Kevin shouted.

Alien-X lowered his arms, causing the others to fall to the ground just as the Omnitrix deactivated and returned Ben to his natural form.

"Kevin? Sorry, but I wasn't exactly getting through to them," Ben apologized. "And they seemed so damn set on killing me."

"So, you were just gonna whale on them all? Even Alan?!" Keivn snapped. "And you know how I feel about him! So what, taking some kinda of payback, Tennyson?"

"What? NO!" Ben declared in alarm. "I...look, you and I, we had our shot. But we both know we were never meant to be. Now I know that and it doesn't matter any more. So if he likes you, and you like him, go for it! I want you two to be happy. I wasn't trying..." Seeing Servantis, still in his protective bubble, behind Kevin, Ben narrowed his eyes. "Don't you see what he's doing? Proctor Servantis messed with their heads and now he's messed with yours!" Activating the Omnitrix once more, Ben transformed into Kickin Hawk. "Now let me at 'em," the avian alien said as he made to move past Kevin.

"No," Kevin said as he stood his ground and pushed Kickin Hawk back.

"Dude, don't you see what Servantis is doing? He  _wants_  to pit us against each other! You've got to snap out of whatever voodoo he's put you under," Kickin Hawk said, getting both frustrated and fearful.

"I was  _never_  put under any voodoo," Kevin replied bitterly. "I've always been nothing but me. I tried to deny it for so long, but it's right there for all to see: you're the Coming Storm!" And with that, Kevin quickly absorbed the metal of the deck plating beneath him before morphing his left hand into a sword blade and slashing at Kickin Hawk's legs.

Kickin Hawk quickly jumped and followed with a side kick before having to dodge a hammer head.

"None of this would've happened if you hadn't found the Omnitrix!" Kevin growled in righteous fury, stunning Kickin Hawk with his words. Trying to take advantage of Kickin Hawk's reaction, Kevin tried to rush at him, but the avian managed to catch him and slam his knee right into Kevin's stomach before dropping him.

"You don't know that!" Kickin Hawk cried.

"I would've never been sent to the Null Void!" Kevin continued, slamming his hammer head fist against the side of Kickin Hawk's head, throwing him back. "Alan, Helen, and Manny would still be regular human kids!" Again he rushed Kickin Hawk, this time successfully landing a blow against him before running at him again. "And Pierce might still be alive!" Slamming the hammer down hard on Kickin Hawk, he nearly sent the avian alien straight through the deck.

"Kevin, please! We were friends once! We can still be friends!" Kickin Hawk pleaded.

Kevin sneered and replied, " _My_  best friend would have listened to Argit and  _stayed home_!" Kevin then picked Kickin Hawk up and held him over his body. "You're not my friend!" he screamed before tossing Kickin Hawk right back to the deck plating he'd cracked, causing him to fall right through.

"BEN!" Rook screamed as he ran over to his fiance's side, Gwen, Cooper, Zed, Ester, and Argit right behind him.

"Is he alive?" Ester asked.

"Plug...the hole," Kickin Hawk grunted as he looked up.

Gwen looked up and gasped, seeing Kevin about to jump down and attack again. Instinct kicking in, she quickly formed a mana barrier, thus plugging the hole in the deck plating and preventing Kevin from following them.

"Boys! Grab him and let's run!" Argit cried, pointing to Kickin Hawk. His two techadon soldiers quickly complied, and the team made their escape.

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben had long forgotten how long they'd been running, but apparently they'd covered a hell of a lot of ground as the Rooter base was no longer in sight. After the Omnitrix had timed out, Gwen had been forced to mend a fractured rib that had carried over on the fly. Normally the Omnitrix would have healed injuries sustained while in another form, but having used Alien-X had drained too much of it's energy and it was unable to do so. Once healed, Ben had insisted on running on his own, but Rook had insisted otherwise.

"Alright, I think we're in the clear. Halt!" Argit called, like a General ordering his troops to stop marching.

And like that, everyone dropped to their knees. All their adrenaline was spent and they could no longer keep upright. Even Rook, with both his Revonnah Kai training and Plumber training was hard-pressed to remain upright for much longer.

"Okay...so let me get...this straight," Cooper said between gasps of air. "Kevin was...supposed to...destroy you?!"

"Yeah, that's what he said," Ben replied, at long last being allowed to get down from the techadon soldier. As Ben walked away, the two techadon soldiers collapsed back into cubes which Ester gathered.

"Where does he stand now?" Gwen asked grimly.

Ben frowned and looked behind him, "Back where I left him after we first met. Six years later and he's back where he started."

At this, everyone dropped their heads in sorrow. All except for Argit. "Well, shit! Kevin's back to being a Ben-hating punk, the Rooters have all the weapons and vehicles, and that Helen girl is the fastest kineceleran I've ever seen! We seriously need a plan!"

"Correct me if I am wrong," Rook said, "but is not Kevin supposed to have been reformed and loyal to the Plumbers and, to some extent, Ben?"

"That's what troubles me," Gwen replied. "This  _isn't_  the Kevin I know!"

"No, but it's the Kevin  _I_ know," Ben said bitterly. "This is the Kevin I knew from the first day I met him till shortly after he joined us to stop the DNAliens."

"Hey, look on the brightside," Argit said, causing all eyes to turn to him, albeit narrowed.

"What brightside?" Cooper asked.

"...They never turned me to the dark-uh, whatever?" Argit answered meekly.

"Small favors," Ester replied with a grin.

Any further words were interrupted by Zed growling at something ahead of them. The group turned to see a pack of evil Wilmutts heading there way. They readied themselves but faltered when the Wildmutts stopped dead in their tracks and ran the other way.

"What got into them?" Cooper asked.

"Beats me," Ester answered before turning around and gaping at an evil Way Big...a  _Way Bad_!

"Give me some room, everybody!" Ben commanded as he activated the Omnitrix. "Way Big's gonna knock this...eh..." Ben faltered as he realized that instead of growing larger he'd grown smaller. He had turned into Ball-Weevil. Before the Way Bad could take a bite out of him ,though, Ball-Weevil spat out a glob and rolled it as fast as he could to get away.

Thinking on her feet, Gwen created a mana sphere around herself and the others and followed after Ball-Weevil in the hopes of escaping the Way Bad.

"Argit! Discharge all your quills at the Way Bad at once!" Rook commanded.

"Hey, it's not like I can just close my eyes and make it happen," Argit snapped defensively. "It's an instinct caused by fear, and as insane as it may sound, I ain't scared enough!"

Rook turned back to keep an eye on Ben and watched in slow motion as the Way Bad came down on Ben's location. "BEN!" he cried.

The shockwave of the Way Bad's landing disrupted Gwen's concentration, causing the mana sphere to falter and send everyone sprawling onto the ground. Rook quickly picked himself up and looked up at the Way Bad as it lifted up it's foot to observe the squashed goo-ball stuck to it just before it exploded. Rook fell to his knees in horror, feeling as though his world had just been destroyed. Somewhere in the back of his mind he registered Zed barking at something, but couldn't bring himself to care. Ben was dead.

A sudden outcry of "BEN!" had Rook pulling himself out and turning to his left to see Ball-Weevil starring up at him in concern. Rook's eyes went wide before he snatched Ball-Weevil up off his new goo-ball and cradled him in his arms. "Bralla-Da! I thought you were dead! Don't you  _ever_  do that to me again!"

"Sorry. Had to cut it close," Ball-Weevil replied just before the Omnitrix timed-out, causing Rook to hold an armful of human teenager.

Rook placed a gentle hand on the back of Ben's head and pulled him into a kiss, desperately needing the comfort to assuage his fears.

Once the two pulled away and everyone was quickly checked out, Argit lead them the rest of the way to a hidden hide-out he'd kept secret from the Rooters...even Kevin. The first rule of survival in the Null Void, Argit had told them, was to trust nobody...especially friends. As he dished out some 5-year-old provisions, Ben asked him what he knew about Servantis' plans and why Ben had been labeled the "Coming Storm".

"So, as you know, the Rooters scrounged up a few different species as DNA samples," Argit explained. "I was by far the cutest."

"Stick to the story, Snuggle-Nose," Ester scolded, the use of her pet name for Argit making him blush and the others chuckle.

"Anyway..."

…

_Argit sat in his cage with a forlon expression, which immediately perked up when a small rat-like creature was tossed in._

_"Extra rations, hedgehog," Kevin said._

_"Thanks, man," Argit replied as he pounced on the treat._

_"I'm shipping out back to Earth. And between you and me, this guy deserves what's coming," Kevin growled as he tossed a dirty, wrinkly, and slightly torn picture in to Argit's cage before walking off._

_"Okay, man. Well, hurry back."_

…

"Kevin thought I had it coming? Just cause he absorbed the Omnitrix and went crazy?" Ben asked, stunned.

"You gotta realize, Kevin was disappointed by a lot of people in his life," Argit said sadly. "When you left him on the streets, not wanting to help him take out that train, and then getting him thrown into the Null Void, it was like he was being abandoned all over again. Rejected, just like his parents did."

"I...did not think about it like that," Rook said with a fretful expression, stroking his chin in thought. "I cannot imagine my parents not wanting me, to the point I would be forced to leave home. It is unthinkable."

"Yeah, and I was basically the one person he opened up to," Ben said, thinking back to that day. "I never meant to turn from him, but that didn't excuse him

from trying to crash that train!" Ben vehemently declared.

"Not saying it does, but it does explain it. And what happened next." Argit continued. "You see all those other missions they'd gone on were training for this one mission. Benny..." Argit faltered, unsure of how to say it.

"I get it," Ben said bitterly. "They were coming after me, why else would Kevin be so eager to 'give me what I deserved'?"

"But why would Proctor Servantis think Ben was such a threat?" Ester asked in indignation. "He's a good guy, he's helped people out."

"True. But Ben wasn't the most...gracious...hero back then," Gwen said as she glanced at Ben, who blushed in slight embarrassment.

"Yeah, and the Omnitrix was a lot of power for a scuzzy little brat to have-" Argit stopped and squeaked when Rook glared and growled at him. "Eh-heh," Argit nervously held up his hands in surrender, "no offense, Ben...Rook."

"Down, Blonko," Ben scolded Rook before turning to Argit. "And I wasn't scuzzy."

"Hey, my story," Argit said. "And to us aliens, you human kids ARE a little scuzzy." When Rook growled again, Argit whipped his head around and, in an incensed tone, said, "Easy man, I'm not insulting him! Plus, we're all entitled to our own opinions!" Argit then looked back to Ben. "Scuzzy or not, they were after you, and I saw the whole thing," Argit continued. He explained how he had snuck onto the Rooters truck and hid inside a storage trunk, listening to Servantis go on about how dangerous Ben was, especially given how he could turn into a celestial-sapien and wish everything out of existence.

"And given how you used your Celestialsapian powers to 'un-pop' your cherry," Gwen started, unsure of how Ben would react.

"Yeah, yeah..." Ben sighed in a defeated manner. "I guess that was an irresponsible use of my power. But just the once!"

"Still, to a psychopathic control-freak like Servantis, that's all the excuse he would need," Cooper added.

"And yet, Kevin listened to him?" Rook asked dubiously.

"Kevin was the key to the whole operation; the Rooters secret weapon," Argit explained. "And Servantis knew exactly what to say to get Kevin to see his point of view. So Servantis laid it on thick, telling Kevin that he was the hero and that Ben was the villain. And poor Kevin just ate it up."

"It makes sense," Ben said, saddened. "Kevin once told me how his parents had called him a 'freak' and a 'monster'. So, to be accepted by Servantis...it must have made the Proctor some sort of a father figure in his eyes."

Argit nodded in agreement. "So..."

…

_The amalgams and Kevin drove their truck through the portal, taking them from the Null Void to Earth. As soon as they arrived they began to unpack. As he did, Kevin noticed the lid of one of the trunks open slightly and shut. His eyes narrowed in suspicion before walking over to it and snatching the lid open. Inside was Argit._

_"Hey, Man..." Argit squeaked nervously, upon seeing Kevin._

_Kevin had half a mind to return Argit to Servantis but thought better of it. Argit had served his purpose and was no longer needed. Besides, Kevin reasoned, if they were successful tonight, they would all be going home. So, with a sigh, Kevin said, "If you're running, you better start," in a warning tone to Argit._

_Argit was surprised but very pleased to be given permission to leave._

…

"My Kevin Levin experience, Benny-Boy, was much different from yours. I could trust him, and he was there for me," Argit said.

"A shame that Servantis made Ben and Gwen experience the worst of him," Etster commented.

…

_Alan looked up to see Argit sneaking away and so moved to apprehend him but was halted by Kevin putting his hand on his shoulder. He looked up at Kevin questioningly, but a soft smile made him hold back. The others did the same, seeing that their leader was making no moves to apprehend Argit._

_Soon after the possum alien dove into the bushes, Kevin turned to see the Rustbucket heading straight for them. Kevin stood his ground in the middle of the road with the most menacing look he could give, forcing the RV to come to a stop. And who should happen to be the first to hop out to face Kevin but the Coming Storm himself: Ben Tennyson._

_"Kevin 11," Ben said with a sneer. "I barely recognize you since you stopped copy-catting me!"_

_"Get over it, you little snot-rag," Kevin replied with a devious smile. He then pulled out his blaster and started firing at Ben, who ducked behind a tree for cover._

_Gwen jumped out of the RV, followed by Grandpa Max, to back up her cousin, but both were forced to duck when Pierce started to shoot his quills at them. Max returned fire with his own blaster, hitting Pierce square in the chest._

_Once Pierce was knocked out, Max fired on the others, but an angry Helen quickly swiped Max's blaster. Gwen formed a mana bar to trip Helen in retaliation._

…

"I had no idea those were the Plumbers Helpers," Gwen said in surprise.

"Yeah, bit of a different dress-code back then," Argit replied bitterly.

…

_Alan burst into his pyronite form and charged at Gwen and Max with Manny at his side._

_Meanwhile, Ben had turned into Eye Guy, faking having been blinded before blasting Kevin dead center. Eye Guy, then leaped onto the boy to pin him down._

_"Since when do you use a blaster?" Eye Guy asked interrogatively._

_"It's not a good idea for me to get too close," Kevin grunted in reply before grabbing onto the Omnitrix symbol on Eye Guy's belt._

_There was a burst of light followed by Ben's human body being thrown back against a tree. When the smoke finally cleared, though, everyone looked on in horror at what had become of Kevin._

_"Good going, Tennyson," Kevin snarked before examining himself properly and grinning maniacly. "This batch is even better than the last one!"_

_"And here comes the crazy," Ben sighed, readying himself to go back into battle._

_"CRAZY?!" Kevin screeched before firing the Eye-Guy lasers attached to his forearms in a 360 degree arc. Manny and Helen managed to duck in time, but Alan wasn't so lucky. Kevin didn't seem to notice, though. The corrupted combination of DNA had indeed brought back Kevin's insanity; he only had eyes for Ben. "I got friends in high places now, brat! I'm there hero, and you're the problem!" Kevin declared before cackling with wild abandon._

…

Argit paused as his mouth formed a grimace. "I had never seen him freak like that: before...or since."

"And he didn't even notice that he had hit Alan," Ester noted.

"To be honest? I don't think he even cared," Argit replied before laying eyes on the Omnitrix. "There's a reason Kevin shouldn't touch that thing. All that DNA, all that energy, it messes with his head. He stops being the guy I've been best friends with for years."

…

_"And all this time, you let me think I was the problem when it's...YOU!" Kevin screamed._

_Before Kevin could make a move Ben activated the Omnitrix again, transforming into XLR8, and dashing away at high speed. He wasn't fast enough, unfortunately, as Kevin was able to use Wildvine's vines to capture XLR8...as well as Gwen, Max, Helen, Manny, Pierce, and Alan._

_"ALL OF YOU! YOU'RE THE PROBLEM! ...And I'm the solution. Hehehaha! I wonder if I can get you all with one blast," Kevin said before pulling out a chunk of earth. "Let's find out!" Before he could consume the chunk and use Upchuck's ability, Gwen through a mana blast at him, which shattered on impact and failed to so much as faze Kevin. "Lame," Kevin mocked._

_"Snap out of it!" Gwen cried. "You need to focus, Kevin!" Gwen tried again to use magic against Kevin, and once more it failed._

_"Lame, lame, la- GUH!" Kevin's words faltered as a volley of quills his the side of his neck. His giant, mutated body then tipped over and collapsed. Behind him, Argit was crouched and panting heavily. However, the quills had done their job, as the vines receded from Ben, his family, and the Rooters._

_Gwen walked over to Kevin, who had reverted back to his human form, and plucked the quills from his neck. "Hey, Creepy? You okay?"_

_"He-" Kevin started before his eyes went wide and he sat straight up, turning to look over to Alan, who was being helped by Helen. "ALAN!" he cried._

_Anything else he might have said or done was halted by the arrival of a canister dispensing a smoke screen. The Rooters packed up into their truck and blasted through a Null Void portal._

…

"The Proctor wasn't too impressed," Argit said. "He called the whole project a failure. He wiped everyone's memories and set them loose in the Null Void. Me too, even though I was an innocent bystander."

"So...why didn't Servantis try again with the other Rooters? Or a new Ben hit-squad?" Ben asked.

Rook's eyes narrowed in understanding as he answered, "The threat passed."

"Huh? Oh, right," Ben said, as the answer dawned on him as well, "when I stopped wearing the Omnitrix."

"But Servantis would have heard, recently, about your recreating the universe," Rook said before adding with a blush, "And of the...alterations...you made to yourself."

Ben blushed as well, still a bit ashamed at how far he had let his lack of self-worth take him.

"Or he may have somehow sensed it, or measured it," Gwen said, her analytical brain reviewing all possibilities. Her tone then softened to one of reassurance as she added, "He might not have even known of your alterations."

"Either way, that would explain why he went looking for Kevin and the others; the perceived threat had returned," Cooper said. "But here's the question: if Kevin is some kind of sleeper agent, was he ever really...?" Cooper didn't dare finish; everyone in the cave knew what he was asking.

Argit sighed and scratched behind his head in a bashful manner. "Look, just...don't give up on him, okay? We  _all_  owe him that much." Argit then hopped of the rock he'd been sitting on and asked, "Did I give up on any of you guys when the Incurseans invaded?"

"Yes!" everyone cried at once (even Zed gave an affirmative bark), causing Argit to wince.

"Yeaaah, th-that's a totally different situation," Argit quickly back-tracked sheepishly.

"Hardly," Ester quipped with a small grin, "but you've made your point, so I'll let you sleep on the bed...for now."

"Hey, uh, total non sequitur here, but are you two actually, uh,  _sleeping_  together now?" Cooper asked.

"Cooper!" Gwen exclaimed, slapping her boyfriend on the arm while Ben giggled and Rook smiled. It was worth it, though, Cooper thought to himself, just to see everyone taking their mind's of the situation...if only for a few seconds.

Returning to business, Rook said, "We have to keep Ben away from the Rooters, but their Null Void projector is the only way out and it is  _heavily_ defended."

Ben turned to Rook and replied, "We'll settle the Kevin thing on the way, so just as soon as it's quiet outside-"

Ben's words were halted by an explosion caused by a new Way Bad tearing the ceiling off of Argit's hide-out.

"Or now," Ben said, panicked. "Now is good too!"

As the planetoid Argit's hide-out was based in was being tipped over by the new Way Bad, Zed and Cooper found themselves tumbling towards the Way Bad's open maw. Argit would have too had it not been for Ester quickly stretching out and grabbing him. Meanwhile, Rook had managed to grab a hold of Ben. Gwen, however, was forced to act fast; quickly changing into her anodite form, she created a mana slide to catch Zed and Cooper and guide them towards a nearby planetoid. Zed and Cooper had just managed to make it to the planetoid when the Way Bad bit the slide and shattered it.

Gwen didn't have time to feel relief, though, as a second new Way Bad reared it's ugly head. The five quickly jumped off just as the planetoid was shattered. Gwen then created a mana platform and surfed on it through the air, grabbing Ben, Rook, Argit, and Ester along the way before chasing after her boyfriend and his dog.

"Cooper! Zed! JUMP!" Gwen cried once she was parallel with them.

Cooper signaled Zed to go first before jumping after her. Once they were both aboard, Ben activated the Omnitrix and turned into Gutrot.

"Beloved, whatever Gutrot is mixing..." Rook started.

"It's a pheromone that attracts Way Bads," Gutrot said, turning to look at Rook.

"Attracts?!" Rook exclaimed.

"Yeah, like how the scent of you right after you've been sparring a couple of rounds with Molly attracts me," Gutrot replied with a wink before turning serious. "I know it sounds wrong, but please: bear with me. Gwen? Floor it!"

Right as Gwen did just that, Gutrot released the to'kustar pheromones, creating a trail leading the two Way Bads right to the Rooters HQ.

When the Way Bads crashed into the Rooters HQ Kevin barely managed to knock Servantis out of the way of the collapsing ceiling. Though Kevin had absorbed the material to save himself from harm, the Proctor had landed on a steel-beam, injuring his side.

"They're trying to reach the Null Void Projector!" Servantis warned him as Helen helped him up on to his feet.

"On it," Kevin replied.

In the main control room, Rook, Cooper and Gwen burst through the doors, followed by Argit, perched on Zed, and Ester, using her long legs to take great strides. They came upon the Null Void Projector, and behind it stood Leander and Swift.

Rook aimed his Proto-Tool at the two but was cut off when the two techadon soldiers were once more spat out by Argit. They punched the two Rooters away from the projector, allowing Rook, Gwen, Cooper, Ester and Zed to immediately attack. Everyone missed Argit sneaking under a grate and into a vent. Everyone that is...except for said rat-boy's girlfriend.

_**-BRoken-** _

Kevin was running down a hallway, unaware of Gutrot as he stepped out from a side doorway.

"So, you got a reason for suddenly turning evil again?" Kevin paused hearing Gutrot speak. "'Cause if not I'll have to introduce you to my therapist. She's really good, but she'll put you in your place."

"Nah." Kevin turned to charge at Ben. "Not really one for open conversations!"

Kevin ran up the wall near Ben using the momentum to jump-kick Gutrot in the face, sending him sliding backwards on the floor.

"Yeah, I got that during our little 'amorous interludes'," Gutrot snarked.

"How's about one more touch, for old times' sake?" Kevin leaned over Gutrot, a strange expression on his face. He then grabbed a hold of the Omnitrix symbol, and much like what happened several years ago, he mutated again. Only, it was a different assortment of aliens: Kevin had a nemuina wing, an astrodactyl wing, conductoid antennae, a gimlinopithecus's torso with four different types of arms and Crashhopper's legs.

Gutrot turned back into Ben, pinned underneath Mutant-Kevin's massive form.

"Oh boy, this is getting to be a habit. Me winding up underneath you, Kevin," Ben shot up at the mutant, but was disgruntled by the oddly soft grin Kevin aimed down at him.

"And what's with the grin?!" Ben asked worried.

_**-BRoken-** _

Phil was having a grand ole' time shooting at the Way Bads, but decided to shoot at their hands to make them fall off the Rooters Headquarters.

"Yeah, get lost you overgrown..." Phil was cut off by an odd sound. He turned to see Argit dropping out of a vent. "Hey, lab-rat!" Phil whistled.

That earned a scared yell of surprise from Argit.

"I was just wondering where you went." Phil donned a crazy smile. "Wanna see something scary?!"

"AAAAH!" Argit screamed as Phil transformed.

"HEY!"

The two stopped and turned toward the doorway where Ester stood with her hand planted on her hips in a stance full of attitude. "That's my future consort you're intimidating," Ester snapped at Phil. "And I'm the only one who does that to him!"

"Then bring it on, Rubber Freak!" Phil shot at Ester.

Ester just narrowed her eyes and charged.

_**-BRoken-** _

Ben was trying to get his Omnitrix to start up again. But it just kept beeping negative at him.

"Hehe," Kevin chuckled. "The first thing you're gonna have to do is...RELAX!"

"That's probably the most unrelaxing thing you could possibly say," Ben shot back.

He immediately transformed into Swampfire in time to grapple with Kevin, but a gravity bubble sent Swampfire flying down the hallway as Kevin spat red weevil balls. Prepared for such a development, Swampfire produced his vine-whips and swiped at the balls, sending them back to explode in Mutant-Kevin's face. The methanosian vaulted over Kevin who fell backwards, clutching his face in pain.

"Maybe you're too crazy to care about Alan and getting him out of here," Swampfire shouted back at Kevin over his shoulder, "but I got Gwen, Cooper and Rook waiting for me!"

Kevin lowered his hand as a very angry expression crossed his face.

"I DO CARE, YOU COMPOST HEAP!" Kevin snapped, reaching out with his right Gravatack arm and forming a red-gravity bubble in his hand.

Swampfire was then lifted off his feet, and pulled through the air back towards Kevin, who threw Ben further down the hallway.

"But Alan and the others are just gonna have to wait." Mutant-Kevin said as he lashed at Ben with a red energy whip.

Swampfire dodged and ran off, only for Mutant-Kevin to 'Shocksquatch' him with red electricity, which forced Swampfire to his knees. Before Ben could stand up, Kevin kicked him up against the wall before he pinned him to it with his hands.

"You and me have unfinished business," he leaned in close as he whispered to Ben. "And I've never been saner, Benji."

_**-BRoken-** _

Rook, Gwen and Cooper had their hands full with Leander and Swift.

Rook and Cooper fired blasts with their respective weapons, but the two amalgams parried the blasts with shots of their own. The techadon soldiers left behind by Argit were blasted to pieces in the fight. Cooper made use of their leftover parts to form enough armor to cover his shoulders and torso.

"I know you didn't just fire at my boyfriend!" Gwen shouted at Swift, blocking her eye beams with a mana-shield before they could hit Cooper.

"Love hearing you say that," Cooper growled playfully at Gwen.

He then aimed his fists at Swift, which caused his gauntlets to fire into the air like rockets, hitting Swift and sending her crashing to the ground next to Leander with a thud. As the gauntlets returned to Cooper, Leander fired at them, causing them to explode in his face.

"COOPER!" Gwen yelled in alarm, rushing to her boyfriend's side. She was barely in time to erect a mana-shield to block an even larger blast from Leader and an attack from Swift, who had recovered. Her shield soon shattered and she fell next to Cooper, who quickly threw himself over her so he could act as a shield. The blasts ricocheted off his techadon armor and struck the Null-Void projector. It began to spark and hum in a dangerous manner.

"SISTER GWEN, BROTHER COOPER!" Rook shouted.

He dashed forward, aiding Gwen and Cooper to their feet. They just jumped over the projector, which exploded right at the moment Rook leaped off the platform, but quickly grabbed a hold of the ledge.

Swift and Leader were not so lucky, and were knocked completely out.

"You always make it a habit to save people, bro?" Cooper asked Rook in friendly way, once they managed to climb back onto the platform.

"A habit one forms when they are in love with Ben Tennyson," Rook joked.

"Hate to cut off your bromance," Gwen teased. "But NOW how do we get out?"

She was, of course, referring to the newly destroyed Null Void projector, which was torn to shreds.

"Ahem! Babe, did you forget who you're talking to?" Cooper held out his arms in a displaying gesture. "If it's a machine, I can fix it, and improve it."

"If you can do that I might just let you go to second base."

Cooper brightened up considerably at hearing that.

"While Cooper fixes the projector, can we please focus on finding Ben?" Rook begged Gwen while giving her a pleading look.

"God, I can't resist that face," Gwen admitted to Cooper who moved to stand next to her.

"I know, right? Is it any wonder he managed to keep Ben from doing totally crazy stuff all this time?" Cooper agreed with his girlfriend.

_**-BRoken-** _

Swampfire cried out as he was hurled down the hallway by Kevin's gravity powers. Through the haze of pain upon impact, Swampfire was able to note that Kevin seemed to be taking great care to smash him into the walls as he did so, only to be unceremoniously dropped harshly to the floor just as he turned back into a human.

"Kevin, wait! Please, don't do this. I beg you, think about Alan!" Ben beseeched his ex-partner/lover.

Kevin appeared to ignore Ben, and looked at his fist as if suddenly realizing something.

"Out of range...finally!" Kevin grinned. "He can't hear my thoughts, but he can hear yours!" Kevin leaned down to ensure Ben knew he was talking to him now, but Ben was past the listening stage at this point and kicked Kevin's legs out from under him, causing him to crash-hop into the wall.

"And that's how those legs work," Ben told Kevin in smug tone.

But Ben's moment of victory was cut off by a flaming fireball nearly hitting him in the face just before he found himself being tackled by Alan, who dropped his Pyronite form in order to hold Ben in a hammer-lock.

"Kevin, you alright? Everyone is in the control room. Proctor, too," Alan grunted as he tightened his hold on Ben.

"Great job, Alan," Kevin said in his high-pitched psycho voice. But to Ben, his tone didn't quite hold the same menace or insanity it had before. Instead, it seemed to soften as the mutant focused entirely on Alan.

"Now, let's do this fast," Kevin chuckled.

"Reminds me of the last few weeks of our relationship," Ben drawled. He hissed when he felt a hot tingle on his arms.

"Watch it! You're about to get your punishment. Don't force me to go against orders and keep you here to rough you up!" Alan hissed in Ben's ear.

"Whoah. Hot," Kevin chuckled.

And it was as Kevin reached out with his Bloxx hand that Ben finally passed out.

When Ben finally came too, due to a shock from one of Mutant-Kevin's conductoid antennae shocking him awake, he found himself before Servantis and the other young amalgams. A cylinder roughly a meter wide and going from the floor to the ceiling and standing right in front of him opened up. The imprint of a humanoid body indented what would have been a flawlessly flat wall, running the diameter of the cylinder's interior. Starring at it gave Ben an ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach.

As if picking up on this feeling, Kevin taunted, "No need to be scared, Ben. IT WON'T CHANGE ANYTHING!"

"What's that?" Ben asked, turning his head to look at Mutant-Kevin.

"A non-barionic destructor chamber," Alan answered with a gleeful grin. "It destroys you  _and_  the omnitrix at the sub-quantum level!"

"You'll be securely deleted," Manny added, his tone also betraying the excitement and glee he felt.

"My idea," Servantis said, grinning at the look of pure dread on Ben's face. "Nothing in this universe, or any other, must ever bring Ben Tennyson back to plague us."

Fearing for his life, he tried to squirm out of Mutant-Kevin's grip, but his efforts were futile, as Kevin pointed out when he said, "Dude, save your strength."

"Thank you for proving me right, young man. For a little while, it seemed that you weren't  _nearly_  the threat I had made you out to be," Servantis gloated as he leaned in to Ben.

This was apparently the signal Manny needed to activate the destructor; the three turbines surrounding it powering to life with a hum.

"Put him inside," Servantis intoned.

Mutant-Kevin took all of two steps forward, grinning like a maniac, before he unceremoniously dropped Ben, spun around, and snatched Servantis up, spinning him around and around as fast as he could.

"Kevin!" Helen cried as, beside her, Alan morphed into his pyronite form.

But before anyone could act, Mutant-Kevin smashed his head against Servantis', breaking the gem at the center of his head, and siphoning the immense psychic energy that doing so released. His maniac grin grew to greater proportions as his eyes went wide and his pupils contracted into pinpoints. Three of his conductoid antennae immediately lashed out behind him, latching on to the foreheads of Helen, Manny, and Alan, and pouring into them the very psychic energy Mutant-Kevin had just absorbed.

"Surprised, old man?" Kevin gloated before releasing both the amalgams and the Proctor as he cried out in agony before collapsing to the ground. All that energy in and all that energy out had been hard on his body. Not to mention the tiny bit he used on himself to put the last fragment of his psyche Servantis had stolen back into place. He was well and truly free of that man now!

Having watched all this with equal parts shock, confusion, and fear, Ben quickly jumped up and ran to Mutant-Kevin's side as he cried, "Kevin? KEVIN!" Once at his side, he reached out a hand to place on Mutant-Kevin's shoulder. "A-Are you okay?"

"Unh, I feel like I'm finally the person I'm supposed to be," Mutant-Kevin moaned, smiling sheepishly all the while.

Ben returned the smile and placed a gentle kiss on Mutant-Kevin's cheek. At the confused look from Mutant-Kevin Ben answered, "For the sake of what we once had; illusion or not."

Mutant-Kevin's smile turned sad, but nodded his head once in understanding before pushing himself upright to look at Servantis who was coming to.

"W-What?" Servantis asked weakly, his head feeling as though someone had taken a jackhammer to it.

"You just destroyed your own loyalty neuro-matrix," Mutant-Kevin answered with a smirk. "You're locked out of their heads...for  _good_!" He turned his head around to look at Helen, Manny, and Alan, who were coming to. "Just like mine," Mutant-Kevin added softly as he smiled at Alan, who returned to smile in kind.

"Now we get to pick a side for ourselves," Manny said in realization of how momentous this was.

"And between you, and me, and the gate-post," Alan said, "this is not gonna go well for you."

As Servantis took in just how out-numbered he was, he stuttered incoherently. This was not good at all.

Ben turned to look at Kevin, who was slowly reverting back to his human form, and asked, "So you're really  _not_  crazy?" he asked.

Kevin grinned as he replied, "Well...not totally. I'm still crazy about Alan."

At this, Alan's cheeks darkened as Ben and the other two amalgams chuckled. "Smooth. Real smooth," Ben teased.

"Yeah, well, I reckon I'm making up for lost time," Kevin answered. "My heart and my head are my own, now, and I'm free to feel and think what I want. And it's all thanks to that first little brain zap from Servantis."

"I might have known!" Servantis growled.

"DO YOU MIND?!" Kevin cried, jumping up to his feet to make a rather imposing figure; his voice laced with a trace of his former insanity. All of which scared both Ben  _and_  Servantis. "I'd have freed the Plumbers Helpers sooner, but I needed Servantis and the amalgams all in one spot to do it," Kevin continued to explain, his voice normal once more. "I didn't figure on you showing up and complicating things...as usual."

"After everything you said to me before going into hiding, I was highly motivated in resolving this entire matter once and for all," Ben explained. "Once I did that, I could be free of whatever emotional baggage I was still carrying for you and have a truly healthy relationship with Rook."

"Yeah...I guess Alan and I wouldn't be able to move on together, either, without first getting this thing between you and me resolved," Kevin agreed. "Fact of the matter is, it was always Alan. I wanted you to be my friend, yes, but my own feelings for you were never meant to be anything more than that of brothers. Servantis screwed that up, though, since he wanted me to get 'close' to you."

"And then you got too close," Ben said.

"Yeah...too close," Kevin said with shame and regret. "I'm really sorry for everything I put you through, Ben. And I'm sorry I can't love you the way you wanted me to back then. But I can still love you in the way Gwen, Cooper, Ester, Argit, and all the others who's lives you've touched and changed for the better do."

With a few tears slowly falling from his eyes, Ben launched himself at the raven-haired boy, who caught him and held him as tightly as he could.

They both had a long way to go, but it was a start.

_**-BRoken-** _

Once back to Earth and secure in their knowledge that the Rooters would never trouble anyone ever again, everyone paired up and went their own ways. Ester and Argit returned to Undertown and their respective duties. Helen and Manny went with the Magistrata to be debriefed on the entire Rooters incident. Gwen and Cooper said something about "celebrating their survival" before heading off, with Zed in tow, to Cooper's home. Max and Patelliday, who hadn't stopped giving each other lovey-dovey eyes for the last few days, apparently had a fishing trip to return to (though Ben was convinced that "fishing" was nothing more than a euphemism). Kevin insisted on personally escorting Alan back home to talk and "make up for lost time".

"It's over...it's finally over," Ben sighed in relief after everyone had long since left.

Rook came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Ben's waist, nuzzling Ben's neck with his face. "Indeed it is," Rook said.

Ben closed his eyes and sighed blissfully at the feeling of safety and security that came from being wrapped up in Rook's arms. "What happens now?" Ben asked, knowing  _exactly_  what he wanted to do next but wanting Rook to take the lead.

Rook grinned, knowing his boyfriend all too well. "Perhaps a reaffirmation of our affections and more base feelings for each other?" Rook suggested.

"Please tell me that's revonnahgander for 'making out'," Ben whined.

Rook chuckled as he swept Ben up into his arms, bridal style, and walked with purpose to his apartment; there was  _much_  to reaffirm.

**END VOLUME XVII**


	24. Volume XVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas, boys and girls! Old Saint Nicholas here with a gift that a lot of you have been asking for. Now, Ex Mentis doesn't know that me and my elves have written this or posted it on his account, so lets keep it between us, yes? Also, my elves and I aren't much in the way of writers, so the grammar and punctuation may get a little rough from time to time, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it just the same.
> 
> Now, for those of you who've been naughty, and you know who you are, I've put a spell on this chapter...all you lot'll see is a bunch of meaningless squiggles. And don't bother bullying a nice boy or girl into reading it aloud for you...all you'll hear is gibberish! Maybe you should try being nicer next year, hmm?
> 
> Again, Merry Christmas to one and all, and I'll see you all next year!

**Episode 62: Rook Tales**

"Sister!" Rook Blonko exclaimed gleefully as he greeted Rook Shar. "May I be the first to welcome you to-" Blonko paused as he noticed someone disembark who should not have been on the transport. "Young One?!"

The youngest of the Rook family grinned impishly as he said, "Frown all you wish; I am back on Earth with the greatest bed-time story-teller and brother-in-law in the universe: Rook Ben Tennyson!" Spying said story-teller and brother-in-law, Young One excitedly dashed over to and jumped into the arms of Ben, who chuckled at the exuberant child.

"Bed-time story-teller?" Blonko asked.

Ben blushed and replied, "Oh, well, Young One and I've been exchanging email on the extranet and the subject come up one time about how my mom and dad used to read me bed-time stories before I went to sleep. Young One was curious and so I began sending him recordings of me reading Earth books to him before he went to bed."

Rook Blonko smiled warmly at this. Ben had a maternal streak that never ceased to amaze or amuse him. Though how this could have slipped Rook Da's notice was beyond him.

"My favorite is 'Alice in Wonderland'!" Young One proclaimed. "It is unthinkable that a world could exist that is so illogical and so without reason!"

"Young One," Ben reprimanded gently, thus changing the subject, "you know you shouldn't stow away. It's dangerous and illegal."

Young One's ears drooped slightly as he replied, "I know."

"Promise me you won't do it again," Ben commanded.

"I promise."

Ben chuckled and said, "Atta boy," before playfully ruffling Young One's head. He then set the boy down and looked to Rook's eldest sister. "Good to see you again, Rook Shar."

Rook Shar responded with a salute and a small smile as she replied, "And you as well, Rook Ben Tennyson. "Soon I will be a Plumber and be able to kick the butt of alien low-lifes."

Any further conversation was halted by the arrival of Max Tennyson and the re-igniting of old rivalries. Seeing the two older Plumbers busy with their reminiscing, Ben suggested a change of venue: Mr. Smoothie.

-Broken-

Honestly, it felt nice to spend some more time with Rooks family, even if it was only his eldest sister, and younger brother. And Young One was having a blast at Mister Smoothie. Ben buying the Revonnaghander youngster three different types of smoothies to slurp on. A smoothie cup held in both hands and his tail.

"This is the best day of my life!" Young One gushed.

"I'd go easy there, Buddy." Ben warned.

But Young One did not heed Ben, for that was the impatience of youth. Young One proceeded to suck on all three straws quickly. And let go to clutch at his head, his eyes crossed, his head shaking, and his mouth slack open as pained groans burst out.

Ben laughed good natured at Young Ones condition, thou Rook Shar looked alarmed, she didn't react as Blonko seemed calm.

"You are experiencing a condition known as brainfreeze." Blonko told his young brother.

"And it is awesome!" Young One cheered through the tears in his eyes.

"Awww. Here, Bud." Ben consoled, he rubbed his hands on both sides of young ones head.

The gentle motion on the sides of Young One's head, close to his eyes, soon relieved the painful headache of the brain freeze.

"Ahhh...Much obliged, Brother Ben." Young One sighed, purring slightly too.

Ben gushed, Young One was too adorable, and getting to see him, instead of just hearing a message from him. Certainly filled Ben with delight.

"Your welcome, and can I say again how happy I am to see you." Ben said, stopping him motion to peck a kiss to Young One's forehead.

The little revonnaghander blushed, but his tail whipped and bristled in obvious joy.

"I hate to shoot down your happiness, Rook Ben." Rook Shar said with a frown. "But it was still unwise of Young One to come to leave Revonnah. Even if it was to see our brothers intended."

"Shar..." Rook huffed, blue blushing at his sisters candid words.

"Oh, so you don't intend to make a honest man out of me, blonko?" Ben teased.

He reached out his foot to poke against Rook's leg, and slide it up and down with a smile at the way Rook's eyes widened slightly.

"I...you enjoy teasing me too much, Beloved." Rook said, catching Ben's feet between his knees.

Ben jerked slightly to remove his foot, and Rook playfully kept a hold on it, before letting it go.

"Hey, I know you intend to tie the knot, or whatever the Revonnaghander equivalent is one day," Ben laughed. "I wouldn't have stayed this long if you didn't. And teasing is part the fun, especially having a cute future brother-in-law coming to visit me."

Ben patted Young One on the head, who beamed at the attention.

"Our Mother would not approve, Rook Ben." Shar admonished. "Young One has not even lost his bi'nthak."

Being reminded that said tail was still attached to him, made Young One frown. Pouting as his ears drooped sullenly, and his tail unwrapped from around a smoothie cup.

"I am two years older than Blonko was when he had HIS parting," Young One whined, before yelping as his tail smacked him in the side of the head.

Ben let out a surprised laugh, but rubbed the spot on Young One's head, and stroked his tail lovingly.

"Why get worked up? I personally loved it when I saw that Blonko had a tail," Ben said.

"It is an odd story..." Rook said to his sister when she stared at him in confusion.

"And I kinda still miss it." Ben said praisingly as he stroked the soft tail. "It's so soft, I mean is it so bad to have it? Your gonna lose it eventually."

Young One was not placated, even with his idol, and surrogate big brother praising his extra appendage.

"But to not have a name, at my age? Unthinkable! They will be calling me Old One soon." Young One frowned as he sucked on his smoothie straw.

Ben felt sympathy for the kid, even if he wasn't the brother of the love of his life, Ben felt a need to help kids out. And as Gwen always said, "You understand kids so well, because your still one at heart."

Normally a insult, but she meant it in a kinda compliment.

"If it's bugging you that much, Big Brother Ben will help you get it off." Ben offered.

The swelling of his cheeks, and the sound of the cup being sucked dry was Ben's only warning, when Young One turned and spat out his smoothie in shock.

"UNTHINKABLE!" Young One happily shouts.

Blonko let out a surprised laugh at the red smoothie juice dripping from his face and hair.

"Oh, beloved..." Blonko chuckled as he reached over to wipe off Ben's face with a napkin.

Ben didn't mind, he let out a small laugh even thou Young One looked mortified at what he'd done. But Ben just bopped Young One's nose playfully, as Blonko wiped his face dry. Young One giggled, and Shar sighed at the boys antics. To Ben it felt like a family gathering.

Ben smiled, and took Rook's hand when he was pulling away, and Blonko looked at Ben curiosuly. But smiled at Ben's loving expression, rubbing his thumb gently over Rook's fingers.

Rook leaned over and placed a small kiss on Ben's lips, pulling back to sit back down, ignoring the gagging sounds from Young One. And the amused giggle from Shar.

That was when Ben noticed him, it seemed odd to have someone glaring at Ben hatefully, well...just from him sitting with his boyfriend. But when Ben took a closer look, the man who was giving him a nasty glare. Started walking toward them...and he was a revonnaghander.

"Who's the revonnaghander with a stick?" Ben asked, and the shocked looks from Shar, Blonko and Young One made him a little uneasy.

"Master Kundo!" Rook exclaimed in surprise.

"He's the master of Revonnah-kai," Young One whispered to Ben, who jumped as Young One had suddenly hid behind Ben.

"Our traditional fighting style..."

Young One was scared of this Revonnaghander, and that didn't put him in Ben's good books. And he felt his 'Mama Bear' instincts flaring up. But he got up anyway to walk over with Blonko and Shar to greet the master.

Rook bowed formally to Master Kundo, but the respectful greeting didn't seem to please him.

"I am ashamed to greet you, Rook Blonko. This is a technological miasma." Master kundo said in a biting tone.

"No, it's a smoothie." Ben joked, holding up his smoothie cup.

But the hateful glare from the other Revonnaghander told Ben he didn't find it amusing.

"The Master does not approve of my leaving," Shar said with a angry frown. "I believe he intends to bring me home."

Young One was frightened and came over to hug onto Ben's leg, seeking comfort in his hero.

"Another one!" Master Kundo snapped indignant. "Does the shame of your family know no end? Both of you must return with me."

Shar and Young One looked at each other, but when Young One made a move to step forward, Ben put a hand on top of his head to stall him.

"You guys don't have to listen to him! He's not your god, or nothing." Ben said aiming a glare at Kundo.

The Master responded by snapping his stick weapon into a sorta, nunchuck weapon.

"He is a respected Elder, and yet..." Rook started to say.

But Kundo slammed his weapon into Rook's chest, sending the young man sliding across the ground.

"I am unaccustomed to repeating myself," Master Kundo said in a voice wavering with restraint.

Ben glares at Kundo a red rage clouding his eyes.

"Hey! NOBODY orders the siblings of my boyfriend around, nobody frightens the cute little furry brother I never had but when you knock my boyfriend around." Ben points dramatically at Kundo. "THAT'S WHEN YOU GO TOO FAR!"

Ben made a karate sound as he dialed in a alien and slammed down on the Omnitrix, transforming into Water Hazard. He shot out two jets of water that merged into one giant water-spout that he aimed at Master Kundo. But the Master confidently spun his weapon at the water, holding it back with a corkscrew motion. Before redirecting it at Water Hazard, hitting him hard but he just charged at Kundo, jumped into the air to fire more water shots and a devastating punch. But all were dodged by The Revonnah-kai Master.

Who struck Ben such a blow that he slide backwards on his back, turning back into his human self. And looking up in alarm, as Kundo drove down his stick at the young boy, but was halted by Rook's proto-tool.

"YOU DARE!?" Rook howls at Kundo. "YOU DARE TO STRIKE AT MY HEART'S FLAME!?"

But Blonko feral anger soon gave way to incredulous disbelief, for his proto-tool fell all to pieces.

"My Proto-tool!" Rook exclaimed.

"Rook Blonko, I did not believe it at first," He gestured angrily at Ben. "But for you to openly state it is horrifying. You chose THIS outsider filth to be your flame-sharer?"

Any further argument was halted when a car pulled up to the curb, and the booming music from the car seemed to disturb Master Kundo. Who covered his ears, growling, and gritting his teeth in pain as he headed towards the car.

"We must leave." Blonko told Ben.

"He's just lucky your brother and sister were here or I'd take him down!" Ben snapped, casting a worried glance over to Young One. Who held his sisters legs in alarm.

A mighty crash caught Ben's attention, as Kundo slammed his scythe like weapon into the hood of the car.

"Or...maybe it's good we have to take them to safety," Ben muttered with a gulp of alarm.

"And you, My Love. I do not want you hurt either," Blonko said.

Ben nodded, and rushed to scoop up Young One in his arms, who had his arms full with the pieces of Blonko's proto-tool. And the four of them quickly rushed off to escape from the deranged Master Kundo.

-Broken-

Using a busy street full of people and sounds as a distraction, the four were able to gain enough ground to slip away from Kundo and reach an entrance to Plumber HQ. In the lab, they had Blukic and Driba examine the remains of Blonko's Proto-Tool while Ben examined an x-ray of Young One's bi'nthak and spinal column. Meanwhile, Rook Shar and Rook Blonko discussed what to do next.

"I wish to return to the streets," Rook Shar said. "Kundo is a menace; he traded blows with father in an attempt to stop me!"

Blonko paled at this news and exclaimed, "Shar, why did you not speak of this?! Was father hurt?"

"He was struck down, but he stood again," Shar answered, though this did little to appease Blonko.

Making up his mind, Blonko frowned and commanded, "You're staying here."

Shar and Young One both gasped in surprise at the use of contractions from their eldest sibling. Ben, however, was not nearly so surprised. If anything, he was worried for Blonko; he only ever used contractions when he was truly, deeply upset. Placing a comforting hand on Blonko's shoulder, Ben asked, "So what should we do."

Rook Blonko looked to Ben with a flash of sorrow before hardening into a look of enraged determination. " _We_ aren't doing anything. _I_ will face Kundo, _you_ will remain her with my brother and sister."

Ben nodded in understanding. "Are you sure you can do this alone? Unarmed?" he asked.

"Against Master Kundo, nothing matters but Revonnah Kai," Blonko answered before leaving the lab.

Ben sighed and prayed for Blonko's quick return before plastering a slightly forced smile on his face and turning back to the problem of removing Young One's bi'nthac…never noticing Shar slipping out the door.

"So why are you so anxious to lose that thing? Seems kinda handy," Ben said.

Young One smiled and answered, "Once the Parting occurs, I may choose my name and be considered an equal." The boy then frowned and added dejectedly, "Until then, I am just a child."

Ben chuckled and replied, "I know how you feel. It took me forever to lose my first baby tooth. It's the exact same thing."

"When you lost this baby tooth, were you given access to the Halls of Knowledge?" Young One asked excitedly. "Was a harvest blade forged in your honor?"

"Yes…kinda…I got a quarter," Ben answered sheepishly.

Hearing a rustling of wheels headed towards them, Ben and Young One looked up to see Blukic and Driba atop a peculiar device.

"It's settled," Driba said, "we're alternating cryo-lasers and radiation."

"Cover your eyes," Blukic added as the machine began to whir to life.

"Whoa, whoa! We're trying to remove his tail, not zap him into oblivion!" Ben exclaimed, moving to stand between Young One and the device the two galvan techs had built. Activating the Omnitrix, Ben transformed into Gravattack and added, "And I say we start with something a little less risky." Using the gravity powers inherent in all galileans, Gravattack lifted Young One a meter above the examination table he'd been sitting on. Next, he surrounded Young One's bi'nthak in one gravity field, and the rest of Young One in another.

"Cry out if this hurts; this was basically how I got rid of my first baby tooth," Gravattack said before directing the two gravity fields in opposite directions. He started off gently before slowly adding more and more force. Seeing that the bi'nthak wasn't even budging, and not wanting to go all out in case Young One was hurt, Gravattack ceased his onslaught and released Young One before reverting back to Ben.

"Geeze, that is one stubborn tail!" Ben cried.

"Are you giving up?" Young One asked.

Ben grinned and replied, "Not a chance."

-Broken-

"I taught you better than that, Rook Blonko." Kundo huffed as he jabbed Rook in the chest with his spear.

"Yes, father was proud of my Revonna-kai skills," Rook said.

"Not that." Kundo snapped. "Being with a offworlder male, I mean, how can you stand to even TOUCH his foul body let alone lay with him."

A claw swipe at Kundo, who barely avoided getting his throat lacerated, but had four slashes on his left cheek.

"YOU BITE YOUR TONGUE!" Rook snarled. "Even my father has accepted Ben, who has done so much to aid Revonnah and the world. It shouldn't matter what the person phsyical is...when it is ones ACTIONS that should speak for them."

Rook pointed a extended talon at his Master, a angry sneer crossing the usually calm young man's face.

"But then you must speak from jealously," Rook clenched his fists tightly. "Given no one can stand to be in your presence long enough to succumb to whatever depraved sexual acts you might inflict on them."

"RRRAWR!" Kundo yowled as he lunged at Rook. And managed to strike Blonko with the blunt edge of his spears blade end.

"Living on this technological world, and consorting with that filth has made you WEAK!" Kundo hissed.

"My Hearts Flame makes me strong enough to deal with ANYTHING, even a outdated old fossil like yourself." Rook's manner going out the door, due to Kundo's insults of Ben.

Kundo tried to inflict another attack but Shar came in between with a yell to her brothers defense.

In anger at the interruption Kundo threw his spear aside, and raised his left hand up in a fist.

"Stone-cutter!" Kundo bellowed.

"SHAR, NO!" Rook cried out, jumping in front of his sister taking the blow.

All the energy in Kundo's fist exploded in a orange flash, and Rook's armor shattered as he was sent flying backwards.

"BLONKO!" Shar screamed in horror.

But there was no response as Rook laid on the ground.

With her brother unconscious, Shar was unable to fight back as Kundo draped Rook over his shoulder like a sack. And lead a handtied Shar down the dock.

"Where are you taking us, Master Kundo!?" Shar angrily asked.

"This chemical ship will pass near Revonnah," Kundo said as they approached a large red ship.

"It's captain agreed to a detour in exchange for a generous supply of Amber Ogia."

Shar whirled to glare at Kundo.

"You traded Amber Ogia with offworlders, and yet you wish to speak for tradition?" Shar stated incredulously.

"Do you see the terrible dishonor your brothers worldliness and affair with the filth forces on us?" Kundo exclaimed.

"Once I collect your Young One, we will be on our way." Kundo finished.

"You forget, that 'Filth' you speak of is my future brother in law," Shar sneered. "And he will not let you come within a KILOMETER of Young One, he loves that boy to death and would see you dead."

Kundo just frowned at her words, but did not reply.

-Broken-

A dozen or so attempts to remove Young One's bi'nthak, and the lab was a mess! Shattered glass, tools flung willy-willy, and devices smoking from an overload. Ben almost had to pat himself on the back for achieving a new record of collateral damage. Blukic and Driba, however, weren't so impressed and kicked Ben and Young One out before calling for a clean-up.

Exiting the turbolift, Ben followed Young One up the stairs to the 2nd level of the command center. There he saw Magister Patelliday scrutinizing a monitor which displayed Max Tennyson and Rick-Dan Wat-Senn fishing.

"Um, Magister Patelliday?" Ben called.

Patelliday jumped and hit a key on a nearby keyboard to change the image on the monitor. "I wasn't spying!" he cried, before realizing it was only Ben.

Ben smiled knowingly and said, "You've got nothing to worry about, Magister. Grandpa Max wouldn't do that to you."

"It's not him I'm worried about," Patelliday replied. "So, you obviously didn't come here to discuss my paranoia. What can I do for you, Ben?"

"Right. Have you seen Rook Shar? I'm supposed to keep an eye on her." Ben said.

"She saw something on a monitor and took off like a gracklflint," Patelliday answered. "Now, I've been ruminating on what it could've been."

"Did you search the monitor spool?" Young One asked, immediately running up to the control panel and doing just as he'd suggested.

Sure enough, the answer became apparent as they saw footage of Kundo fighting Rook. With not a moment to loose, the two dashed out of there like their lives, or rather, Shar's and Blonko's, depended on it.

Half an hour later and they were in Undertown at the docks. Ben called out to Kundo to get his attention. While Young One searched the ship for his siblings, Ben tried to take on Master Kundo once more: first as Wildvine, then as Bloxx, and finally as Kickin Hawk. However, no matter what he tried, Ben continuously lost.

"Grrr, how is he doing this?!" Ben growled as he pulled himself out of the underground lake.

"You are fighting him incorrectly, Beloved," Blonko answered, as he, Shar, and Young One exited the ship. "As was I."

"Incorrectly?! I taught you everything you know!" Kundo exclaimed, irritated by the gall of his former student.

"You taught me everything _you_ know," Blonko returned, "but I am not in your training hall anymore. And neither are you!"

"That's it, babe! Show him who's boss!" Ben cried encouragingly.

Blonko ran at Kundo, and the two began to fight. Rook stopped using the Revonnah-kai techniques that had failed him in their last encounter, and instead used the techniques he'd learned from Plumber Academy, as well as from field work with Ben. Kundo was clearly caught off-guard by this change, having never expected such a thing from a revonnahgander. And it showed when Blonko landed several hits on him, before knocking him to the ground.

"Since leaving home, I have fought tokustars, Incurseans, tetramands, and ecto-nurites. It was a mistake to forget that. Compared to all the battles I have fought across the galaxy, Revonnah-kai is small potatoes!" Blonko said.

"What are…potatoes?" Kundo asked, confused by the phrase. Shaking his head to clear away such nonsense for now, he got back onto his feet and faced Blonko. "Your travels have made you formidable, Rook Blonko," Kundo conceded. "But that armor is ruined! You will _not_ survive the stone-cutter!"

With perfect timing, Young One tossed the Proto-Tool to his brother, who dove for it and powered it on. As Kundo attacked, Blonko activated the shield function and held strong. The force of Kundo's attack backfired, and threw him against one of the ship's fuel cells, cracking it. Before Blonko could save him, though, the cell ruptured, spilling the acidic fuel into the lake and swallowing up Kundo in its corrosive mass.

"Is he…gone?" Ben asked.

"I believe so, Beloved," Blonko answered, before pulling Ben into his arms. "Forgive me for being so foolish; it seems I still fail to value cultures that are not revonnahgander."

Ben smiled and wrapped his arms around Blonko. "We'll turn you into a 'technological miasma' loving abomination yet."

Blonko chuckled and tightened his hold.

At that moment, the signal for the ship's departure sounded. Try as they might to make it on time, though, the ship took off without them, leaving them to wonder what possible challenge Max and Rick-Dan were up to this time!

Ben frowned and put his hands on his hips. "What are you doing?! Patelliday's been monitoring you two all day!"

"What?" Max asked, before losing his concentration and being pushed back by the sheriff.

"Yeah, you might want to reassure him that the two of you are still 100% exclusive," Ben said.

Max dropped his head in a contrite posture, not minding at all that he was being reprimanded by his grandson.

"Wait, you and old 'Telli are a thing?" Rick-Dan asked before laughing. "That poor bastard's been after you since the academy! You were just too busy chasing after Verdona and then Xylene!"

"What?!" Max exclaimed, having never known this about his partner.

Rick-Dan sighed and shook his head before looking up towards one of the Plumber cameras. "Hey, 'Telli! If you can hear this, stop being jealous. Max is all yours."

"This is not helping!" Rook Shar yelled. "I must matriculate at the academy in three days!"

"With Grandpa Max's permission, perhaps I could transport you myself?" Rook Blonko offered.

Max smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

At that moment, Young One's bi'nthac fell off.

"IT IS OFF!" Young One cried out in victory, jumping excitedly into the air. "Today I am a revonnahgander! BOO-YA! BOO-YA! BOO-OO-OO-YA!"

Later, in the hanger of Plumber HQ, Blonko, Shar, Young One, and Ben were gathered around the Proto-TRUK. "This is quite an unprecedented event," Blonko said. "I do not believe a revonnahgander has ever had their parting off-world."

"Pretty sure I loosened it a little," Ben quipped.

"Perhaps," Young One quipped back with a grin.

"Why you little-!" Ben quickly snatched up the boy and proceeded to ruffle his head, earning giggles from said boy and his two siblings.

Being the first to recover, Shar said, "Your brother and I will miss your bi'nthac'oi ceremony back on Revonnah."

"Yes, we must revise our traditions to suit the time," Blonko agreed. "By the fruit of Revonnah, and the stones of heaven, your childhood is ended," Blonko announced as he kneeled before his little brother. "What name do you choose?"

Young One hummed in thought for a second or two before snapping his fingers as inspiration overcame him. "Henceforth, I shall be known as Rook…Brillig!" As Brillig announced his name, he turned to Ben to give him his bi'nthac.

Ben looked puzzled for a second at the name before he realized its significance and smiled, gratefully taking the offered tail. "Perfect. An unconventional name for an unconventional revonnahgander."

At this, Blonko quirked an eyebrow and asked, "Beloved, care to explain?"

"' _Twas brillig, and the slythy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe. All mimsy were the borogroves, and the mome raths outgrabe_ ," Ben quoted.

" _Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch!_ " Rook Brillig added.

When neither Blonko nor Shar seemed to catch on, Brillig explained, "It is a poem by Lewis Carroll: the author of 'Alice In Wonderland'."

"It is nonsense," Shar commented.

"Precisely!" Brillig replied. "It is such fantastic nonsense! It goes against everything that Master Kundo and his ilk stand for!"

Blonko grinned. "And thus a perfect choice for you." Stepping forward, he pulled his little brother into a hug and said, "Welcome, Rook Brillig. You are now our equal." He then passed Brillig on to Shar" who added, "I still reserve the right to refer to you as 'Brat'."

Brillig giggled and replied, "This is acceptable." Revonnah wasn't going to know what hit it when Rook Brillig returned.

**END VOLUME XVIII**


	25. Intermission 7: The First Time (“Love Me Like You Do”)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BEHOLD! The final chapter!
> 
> Sorry I forgot to add it here.

** Intermission 7: The First Time (“Love Me Like You Do”) **

            It was their second Valentine’s Day as a couple; they had spent the whole day together enjoying each other’s presence. Bellwood's annual Valentine’s Day fair had offered plenty of attractions for them, as well as a number of concerts including John Legend (and if anyone could get someone in the mood, it was John Legend). As evening began, Rook had flown himself and Ben in his Proto-TRUK to Paris for a romantic dinner. And then evening turned to night, and the two, stripped of their inhibitions by copious amounts of champagne, all but crashed through the door of Rook's apartment with their arms around each other and their lips locked together.

            And that was when the shift occurred.

_You're the light, you're the night  
You're the color of my blood _

            Ben looked up into the warm orange eyes of his boyfriend and fiancé. His cheeks were tinged in a purplish hue inherent in a revonnahgander blush. The corners of his lips were pulled back in a dazed, lopsided, and quite charming smile. Ben had only seen a glimpse of this side of Rook once before, and it drove him wild to see the alien so...unleashed.

            Ben knew what would come of this if the two of them went any further. And yet, for all the misgivings he'd had about it since Kevin had broken his heart, for the first time Ben couldn't bring himself to object.

_You're the cure, you're the pain_

            “We can stop here if you wish, Ben,” Rook whispered, afraid to break the spell they were both under.

            Ben couldn't help but smile at Rook in that way you do when someone says something so stupid and adorable. This was what Ben loved so much about his revonnahgander: he never took a step forward in the relationship unless either Ben took it first or Ben said it was okay. But at a time like this? It was almost a ridiculous trait to have.

_You're the only thing I wanna touch_

            “Rook?” Ben spoke up, his voice also a whisper, “Right now? All I want is gentleness. And joy. And love. From you. You're the only thing I want to touch right now.”

            Rook took a breath, processing what Ben said. And in a tone of uncertainty he asked, “Ben, do you understand what you are asking?”

            Ben nodded his head. “I do. I want you...to make love to me.”

_Never knew that it could mean so much, so much_

            And in the blink of an eye Ben was lying on his back on Rook's bed. His shoes, shirt, and pants had been slowly, delicately, tortuously removed. Having also divested himself of his own clothing, Rook climbed on top of Ben and looked down at him with cherishing eyes. Ben’s breath caught in his throat as Rook looked at him this way. For the first time in a long time he felt truly safe. There wasn’t even a flicker of doubt and fear in his mind as he felt lubricant-coated fingers prepare him. If anything, it felt all the more intimate and _right_!

            Who knew sex could feel like this?

_I’ll let you set the pace_

_Cause I’m not thinking straight_

_My head’s spinning around I can’t see clear no more_

            Ben knew what was coming when those three fingers left his eager entrance. His shaft was so hard from the mere thought of what was to come it hurt. But when he felt hesitation in his partner, Ben rolled his eyes and said five words.

_What are you waiting for?_

            Ben mewled in delight as the feeling of Rook’s cock entering him overwhelmed ever nerve in his body. The feeling of something so solid and warm inside his most sacred of spaces nearly made him tip over the edge right there, but he couldn’t fall apart just yet. There was still so much to do.

            And then, Rook began to move.

            The pace was slow and antagonizing at first. But when Rook saw how completely debauched Ben looked, he was spurred on. Still taking his time, Rook added to his ministrations a deep and sultry kiss with his beloved, as well as his hand wrapping around Ben’s cock and pumping it in time to the pumping of his hips.

_Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do_

_Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do_

_Touch me like you do tou-tou-touch me like you do_

_What are you waiting for?_

            Ben had never known ecstasy such as this. With Kevin it was fast, rough, and rushed. Not even a post-coital cuddle or kiss. It was more about Kevin than it had been about Ben. But with Rook…Ben felt special. He felt _treasured_.

            And when the moment came, the two came together in perfect sync. They had both thrown their heads back and cried out each other’s names. Neither could believe their name could sound so beautiful.

            With the last of their combined strength, the two curled up together and shared in a moment of unbridled bliss and joy. Ben could never have wished for a better first time.


End file.
